Never Never Land
by RhythmStickLunatic
Summary: Kyouya never believed in stories, until Pan broke into his life. On his epic journey, he reluctantly discovers, to live would be an awfully big adventure. The Host Club is his Neverland, & he wouldn't have found it without Tamaki, his Peter Pan. Kyoumaki.
1. The Ootori Home

**Hello everyone! I know this should probably be classified as a crossover, but I figured more people would read it if it wasn't. **

**DISCLAIMER: No, I'm not J.M. Barrie or Bisco Hatori. That would be weird. I'd be really old.**

**I. The Ootori Home**

It is never certain what a child will grow up to be. Some will be doctors or lawyers or preists or bankers. Some will be rich. Some will be poor. Some will be butchers, or bakers, or candlestick makers. However, one thing is truly certain: All children grow up…except for one.

The nursery of the Ootori estate was brimming with energy. Playful shouts and laughter could be heard halfway down their foggy late-night street. That is, of course, if there were people on the street to hear it, but no one ever got close enough to the Ootori home to hear anything that went on inside. Its size was not the only aspect of the house that made it so intimidating; it was the man who lived there. Yushio Ootori was a stern man whose business was his only cause for concern. His children did not even meet the top of his list of priorities. Some believed that the only reason he had so many children in the first place was to ensure he'd have a worthy heir to the family company.

"Have at!" a young, smiling Kyouya Ootori shouted at his younger step-brother Mitsukuni, clutching a curtain rod in one hand and a hanger in the other.

Mitsukuni laughed and growled, "Aye, James Hook! I _shall _have at you!" The younger brother lunged toward Kyouya with a rolled up piece of paper that played the part of a dagger.

"Not if _I_ have anything to say about it!" Kyouya playfully snarled, pushing up his glasses and adding an "Arrgh!" to the end of his sentence. Their sister Fuyumi simply sat on Kyouya's bed, grinning at her brothers.

"Boys!" she called to them. "You really should be getting to bed soon. Oh, and Kyouya, you've got the hook in the wrong hand." Kyouya was prepared to switch the hooked hanger to his left hand when he heard his father's loud footsteps echoing down the hallway. Yushio Ootori appeared in the room, hurriedly tucking in his shirt and fastening his belt.

"A little less noise, please," their father grumbled. "A little less—aah!" The man's stern face was now flat on the nursery floor. The black-haired children winced, but Mitsukuni, whose hair was the colour of honey, let out a tiny giggle. Yushio's face was tomato-red as he stood up and brushed himself off. He threw the toy train he'd tripped on against the wall and scrambled toward a mirror. Kyouya followed him, picking up toys and things as he went.

"Mitsukuni, what did I tell you about leaving your toys out?" Kyouya said. He was not the same boy he had been when he brandished a curtain rod sword and a hanger hook against his step-brother, the mysterious flying boy. "I'm sorry father, he will never learn."

The boy's father ignored his rambling and he fumbled over the bowtie around his neck. Fury caused his fingers to shake. "Insolence!" he shouted. "How many times have I told you boys that this is no way for any sons of mine to behave? You should be following the examples your older brothers are setting for you!" The angry head of the Ootori family gave up on the tie and turned to face Mitsukuni. "You are no longer a Haninozuka, young man. The moment your mother married into this family was the moment I expected you to behave like an Ootori!" Yushio's face was lobster red, and the honey-haired boy could have sworn he saw his step-father's glasses start to fog up.

"Of course," he grunted, gesturing absently toward Kyouya, "you'll never learn to behave like an Ootori when my own _son_ insists on disgracing my name!" The spectacled boy simply stared ahead of him, trying hard to show absolutely no emotion. In time, he will learn to use this skill on a daily basis.

"And you!" he shouted, turning to wag a finger at Fuyumi, who was still sitting casually on Kyouya's bed. "I expected more from my daughter. Kyouya is almost thirteen years old! Practically a man! It's time you stopped filling his mind with these foolish notions of pirates and silly…flying boys! Kyouya will never get anywhere if you keep spoon-feeding him this nonsense!"

Fuyumi stood up and started to tie her father's tie for him. "Oh father. You don't mean that. And If I do say so myself, Peter Pan is not some silly flying boy."

"Peter Pan?" Yushio's face was practically steaming now. He pushed his daughter's hands away and continued fumbling at his tie himself. "_Peter…Pan_?! You call him by his name as if he were one of your school friends! He's not real, Fuyumi! My sons will never survive in the real world if you insist on…GAH! _Blast this wretched tie_!

Kyouya cautiously approached his father, his face still lacking expression. He bowed his head. "Sir, I know they are just stories. I'm sorry I've disappointed you."

Yushio continued to ignore his son. "It's time you've all gone to bed. Your older brothers and I will be attending a company meeting tonight, and I don't want you staying up late, am I clear?"

As sudden pang of fear struck Kyouya. "Father," he began, "should I attend the meeting as well? If it involves the family business, shouldn't I--?"

His father cut him off with a gesture like he was shooing a gnat. "This is no concern of yours. We will be discussing the next heir to the Ootori group. Fuyumi, for heaven's sake, _fix this tie_!" Kyouya's world seemed to stop spinning. He dropped to his knees in the middle of the room and stared at the floor. Just like that, he was fully denied the position of the Ootori family heir.

Completely unaware, Mitsukuni tip-toed to his big brother, clutching his teddy bear and whispered in his ear, "When he's gone we can play some more."

Kyouya's eyes illuminated with fury that he did not show. He whispered cooly, "No Mitsukuni. It's time you started growing up. You'll never get anywhere if you keep relying on foolish things like this," he grabbed Mitsukuni's teddy bear and locked it in a trunk at the foot of his bed, "to keep you happy." Kyouya saw tears brimming in his brother's eyes. "And don't cry. Tears show weakness. No one gives in to tears in the real world."

"Y…You," Mitsukuni sniffled and wiped his nose. "You sound just like father."

At that moment, Kyouya silently vowed to do whatever it took to make his father proud. He _would_ be the Ootori family heir. He _had_ to.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Yes, I know Hunny is older than Kyouya, but this is Kyouya's **_**dream. **_**The facts can be jumbled. It could be Kyouya's secret lack of respect for Hunny as his superior manifesting itself in the form of Hunny as a younger step-brother. Or the jumbled facts could simply be a product of crazy dream logic that doesn't have to make sense. No matter. Please review and favourite to make me a happy panda!**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!" **

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	2. The Boy at the Window

**II. The Boy at the Window**

Fuyumi grew more and more worried about her brothers. They were acting very strange lately, especially Kyouya. He practically mirrored every move his father made. At night, when Fuyumi sat down to tell the boys their bedtime story about pirates and the lost boys on the island of Neverland, Kyouya waved his hand at her dismissively and said, "Please Fuyumi, enough of that rubbish. I've got work to do." He then sat down and began scribbling calculations in the black notebook that used to play the part of his treasure map.

Even Mitsukuni wasn't acting like himself lately. The teddy bear he was usually never seen without was nowhere to be found, and he even denied sweets when they were offered to him. This behaviour wouldn't have been entirely strange for any other boy, but Mitsukuni Haninozuka-Ootori had a sweet-tooth the size of a grapefruit, and some believed that its roots were actually lodged in his brain. His siblings hadn't seen much of him around the house. When they asked him where he'd been, he'd respond in the sternest voice he could muster, "I haven't the time for foolish games. I have more important things to do." The adult-like words were strange coming from a ten-year-old boy; they were almost comical.

Later, Fuyumi discovered that he had been taking karate lessons with his cousin Takashi. The Ootoris knew the Haninozuka family were proud martial artists before Mitsukuni's parents divorced and his mother remarried the head of the Ootori family. Mitsukuni would have been the Haninozuka heir if it weren't for the divorce, and for that Kyouya always felt a little distaste for Mitsukuni's mother and his step-mother. Why would she intentionally take that opportunity away from her son? The intuitive Kyouya had always thought his step-mother married his father for his power. It was probably true.

Needless to say, Yushio Ootori was impressed with the sudden changes his sons underwent. Kyouya could tell that he was slowly making his way up his father's list of possible heirs. He knew that the possibility of his father choosing him over his brothers was slim, but he still had to try. Kyouya would have been lying if he said he didn't miss playing games and hearing stories, though he'd never show it. Mitsukuni was the first to temporarily let down his airs.

"Fuyumi?" Mitsukuni said as his sister was tucking him into bed. Onlt momentarily he forgot his stern voice and switched back to his old ways.

"Yes, Mitsukuni?" Fuyumi was just relieved to hear her step-brother's true voice for a change.

"Will you…" he glanced cautiously at Kyouya who was writing in his book like always. "Will you tell us a story?"

This caught Kyouya's attention. "Mitsukuni, what have I told you about listening to that nonsense?" Kyouya was bluffing and he knew it. The desire to hear his sister's stories again burned within him. His brother's words made the flame burn brighter, but his face still remained stone.

Fuyumi ignored her brother's protest. "Which one do you want to hear?"

"Tell us about the fairies!" The boy cleared his throat and added in his stern tone, "I find that one quite interesting."

Kyouya rolled his eyes. "Well, that one's not really a _story_ per se_." _Fuyumi said, but she continued anyway. The story was so familiar to Kyouya that he could recite it in his head as his sister spoke. "When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about…"

Mitsukuni chimed in and said the last line with her. "And that was the beginning of fairies."

Kyouya turned to face the wall, muttering "rubbish" under his breath.

Mitsukuni yawned. "Fuyumi, is Peter Pan real?"

"Of course—"

"Of course not!" Kyouya interrupted. "It's just a story. Don't be stupid.

"But," Mitsukuni protested, "What about last night? The boy at the window?" Kyouya's heart jumped.

"What boy?" Fuyumi jumped up, concerned. "At the _third floor_ window?"

"It was just your imagination," Kyouya said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Nuh uh! You saw it, too. You know you did!"

"Seriously," Fuyumi said, "What boy?"

"Last night," Mitsukuni began excitedly, "there was a boy at the window—"

"Mitsukuni," Kyouya interjected.

"He wasn't there long—"

"He wasn't there _at all_!"

"But he stopped at the window, peered in, and in a split second—"

"It was nothing." Kyouya's voice betrayed his calm charade.

"He was gone! But he left something behind."

Both Kyouya's and Fuyumi's stomachs twisted and their hearts jumped.

"I found it after Kyouya fell asleep, so I locked it up." Mitsukuni hopped off his bed and bounced over to a drawer in the corner of the room. He reached in and pulled out a large hand-held mirror. Its silver handle was decorated with spiraling vines, some part of the mirror's design, and some real and green. Silver leaves bordered the reflective glass. The strangest part, though, was the silhouette of what appeared to be a boy on the glass, like the reflection was missing altogether. Kyouya and Fuyumi's eyes widened. Trying to hide his astonishment, Kyouya shook his head and crawled back into bed.

"Well, whatever that is, I highly doubt it's his. He's not real." But he was lying to himself. He knew what he saw at the window. The thought of the flying boy coming back made him shutter, so he pulled the large window shut before crawling back under his covers.

Mitsukuni sighed and stood up straight. "You're right," he said, becoming once again the stern-voiced baby-face he was before. He crawled back into his bed. "It's nothing." He lied to himself, too, but there was no way to convince his brother to believe in "some silly flying boy." A week ago it would have been easy, but Kyouya was going to be a "man" soon. Mitsukuni silently hoped that being a man didn't mean losing fun and imagination, but he did what his brother said. He focused on more important things. He just didn't know it would be so difficult.

Fuyumi pulled Mitsukuni's covers up to his chin and kissed his forehead. The boy's lips twitched as he held back a smile. In his tiny ear, Fuyumi whispered, "You don't have to grow up too fast." She turned to kiss Kyouya goodnight, but he turned away from her to face the wall again. Sighing, the eldest of the Ootori children lit a lamp and set it on Kyouya's bedside table. Before she stepped out the nursery door, she turned off the lights and whispered, "Dear night-lights that protect my sleeping siblings, burn clear and steadfast tonight."

**I am aware that at the moment this just seems like a Peter Pan/Ouran crossover, but trust me when I say I'm NOT just re-telling the story of Peter Pan. So hopefully you like it. Feel free to show some love! Reviews would be nice. Favourites would be better. =] My next chapter should be up in three to four days...maybe. So add me to your story alert!**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!" **

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	3. An Uninvited Guest

**III. An Uninvited Guest**

Not a creature stirred on that dreary Tokyo night. Not a soul walked the usually busy streets that neighboured the Ootori estate, so no one was around to see the mysterious shadow on their roof. The eerie figure lightly lept from one portion of the rooftop to the other like a wild lemur. The figure stopped above a familiar window and casually stepped off the roof into thin air. If anyone were watching, he or she would probably have run into his or her house to call the police and report a suicide. But if anyone were foolish or awe-struck enough to remain still and watch further, he or she would have seen the boy float casually down to the window ledge as if he were suspended by invisible strings. The foolish spectator would probably have then rushed into his or her house to call the local psychiatrist, because he or she must _clearly _be insane. Luckily though, not a creature stirred on that dreary Tokyo night.

The floating boy was surprised to see the window firmly closed; it had never been closed before. The boy gently shook the window, hoping the latch could fall open without waking the sleeping children. Why was the window latched, anyway? Not many families have to worry about flying boy intrusions. The boy's efforts to remain quiet were failing, so he reared back and flew straight at the window with full force. With surprising luck, the window didn't break, but the latch did, letting the window swing open with the breeze. The boy tumbled into the nursery, making a great deal of noise and breaking a great deal of toys. He looked at both boys nervously, but they just turned over in their beds and continued dreaming. The intruder breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mirror?" he whispered, as if the mirror could hear him. "Where did they put you?" He rummaged through chests and drawers in the darkness until he felt a familiar shape. "Finally!" he gasped, pulling his beloved hand mirror out of a drawer. "I've found you!" he shouted. He completely forgot about keeping his volume low. "I didn't know how I'd go on living without seeing my beautiful face again!" The boy's rejoicing was interrupted when he noticed something strange. He drew in a quick breath of air and stared horrified at the dark glass. He couldn't see his reflection! "Mirror…why can't I see myself?" The child let melodrama get the best of him, and a tear formed in the corner of his eye. "Come on. Don't you like me anymore?" He asked the mirror, starting to sob. A small voice behind him made him jump.

"Boy," said a small honey-haired boy with tired eyes, "Why are you crying?"

The boy whipped around to face the speaker, hiding the mirror behind his back. He could barely see the little delicate boy in the darkness, but he remembered his voice. Still, he felt compelled to ask, "What's your name?"

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka-Ootori," he replied. "What's yours?"

"Peter Pan!" The boy said proudly. He stood up tall with his hands on his hips.

Mitsukuni's eyes widened and sparkled with astonishment. His mouth was suddenly dry. "K…Kyouya…" he whispered, not taking his eyes off the legendary figure before him. "Kyouya," he whispered louder. He picked up a wadded sock and threw it at his sleeping step-brother. "Kyouya!"

"Mmmm!" the shadow king groaned groggily. "What?!" He sat up blearily and prepared to glare at Mitsukuni for waking him. Before he could let out his anger, the foreign figure before him caught his eye. He jumped and quickly reached under his bed, pulling out the curtain rod sword from before. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to sound manly and dangerous.

"I'm Peter Pan!" The boy said again with the same confidence. By the light of the small lamp at Kyouya's bedside, Mitsukuni could see his brother's eyes widen in shock, only for a second. He fumbled for his glasses on the bedside table and shoved them onto his face, not taking his eyes off the boy in the middle of his bedroom. Kyouya relaxed his face and made his voice cool and calm. "Peter Pan? Is that all?"

"Well, yeah," the stranger responded.

"Kyou-chan!" Mitsukuni said misty eyed. "Don't you know who--?"

"Where did you come from?" Kyouya asked in a very businesslike tone.

Energetically, the boy lept onto the window ledge and gestured boldly at the night sky. He said triumphantly, "Second star to the right and straight on till morning!"

Kyouya didn't show the least bit of interest. Instead, he merely raised an eyebrow. "Is that what it says on your letters?"

Peter Pan stepped down from the ledge and looked confused. "I don't get any letters."

"Surely your father gets letters."

"I don't have a father."

"Oh no!" Mitsukuni cried. "How awful! No wonder you were crying."

"I wasn't crying about _fathers_," the boy snapped. "I was crying because I couldn't see my beautiful face in my mirror."

Kyouya was a little shocked when the boy said "_my_ mirror." The same thought kept running through his head: "he really _was_ here last night." His face and voice remained as emotionless as he'd practiced. Though he was only thirteen, he had the ability to make his face look thirty. "You're really an idiot, aren't you?" He asked the boy patronizingly. "A reflection is refracted light, which means there has to be _light _for you to see yourself in that mirror." He walked over to the wall and flipped the switch.

Just as the lights flicked on, Peter Pan's face illuminated. When his violet eyes met those reflected in the mirror they filled with tears. He gazed into the mirror as if it were a photograph of the love of his life. With every ounce of over-the-top theatrical flair he had in his body, the boy fell to his knees, sighing. Quickly, he jumped to his feet again. In the light, the Ootori boys could see that he was wearing nothing but a collection of leaves that were strung together with vines. Kyouya was surprised to see how beautiful the boy really was. His hair was tussled, yet somehow perfect. It was the colour of golden honey and it fell delicately around his violet eyes. Yes, his eyes were violet, and they shimmered like they were filled with tears that he wouldn't let spill. He stood a few inches taller than Kyouya, but his face was rounder and tinged with dirt, making him look more childlike and innocent. His hands were dirty too, like he never washed them.

"Oh, the cleverness of me!" the blonde exclaimed dramatically.

Kyouya rolled his eyes. "Of course, _I_ did _nothing_," he said sarcastically. "_You're_ conceited."

Peter Pan looked like he didn't know the meaning of the word. He ran toward Kyouya's bed and jumped onto it, landing a foot away from where Kyouya sat. "Conceited?" he smiled. "Not me! It's just that I am what I am. And I'm…" be bent down and playfully touched a finger to Kyouya's nose, "…me!"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Enter: TAMAKI, BOY AT WINDOW**

**Yay! This is when things start to get interesting. Let me know if you find anything confusing. The only editor I have is myself, and I tend to know what I'm talking about, but my readers may not. Review and I shall give you honourable mentions. Favourite and I shall give you presents!**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!" **

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	4. Second Star to the Right

**IV. Second Star to the Right**

Mitsukuni's wide-eyed and awe-struck moment passed and he stiffened, trying to look stern and manly. The act was unconvincing, but somehow the boy still managed to be intimidating. He used to be quite the little fighter when he lived with his father; he was professionally trained in the Haninozuka style. Now that he'd rejoined lessons with Takashi, he remembered just how good he used to be.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked in the lowest octave of his feasible vocal range. "And why did you come last night?"

The foliage-clad boy floated too slowly down from Kyouya's bed. "I came to hear stories," he said with a grin, "about _me_, of course. But you made the lovely young lady stop telling her stories. Why?" He wrinkled his eyebrows at Kyouya.

"Because they're pointless," the black-haired boy said flatly. The shine on his glasses hid his eyes. "They are a waste of time, and they do me no good. I…_we_" he said, looking at Mitsukuni, "need to concentrate on more important things."

"What could be more important than imagination?" asked Peter Pan.

"Kyouya almost laughed. "Something _real, _maybe?" he said patronizingly.

"Mmmhmm!" Mitsukuni grunted.

"Where did you come from anyway?" asked Kyouya. "What do you want?"

"Well, I came for my mirror," the exotic child answered. "And I've already told you. I came from the second star to the right."

"You can't really mean the stars," Kyouya accused.

"Why not?" Peter said.

"Because there's no such place that exists among the stars."

"Oh, but there is!" He boy grinned, flipping upside down and standing on his hands. "It's a magical place where dreams are born…and time is never planned!" Peter fell to the ground and laughed, lying on his back.

Mitsukuni had a hard time hiding his boyish wonder. "Never Never Land" he whispered.

"Exactly," said the Pan boy as he repositioned his body to sit Indian-style on the carpet. He began stacking blocks as he spoke. "It's where all the little boys go who fall out of their carriages or run away from home because they don't want to grow up."

"Lost Boys," Mitsukuni tried to hide his smile but failed.

"Right!"

"So," Kyouya began, "You're telling me that if I fell out of my carriage as a baby, I could have run away to Neverland?"

"Well, no. Not you, of course."

"Why not?!" Kyouya was prepared to be offended.

Peter Pan knelt at the foot of Kyouya's bed. "Because you are far too clever to have fallen out of _your_ carriage," he said with a charming smile that could melt snow. Kyouya was caught off-guard by the flattering compliment, and he couldn't help but blush.

"Plus," Pan added, "you seem far too eager to grow up. I can't see why." He stood up defiantly. "You can't catch me and make me a man! I want always to be a little boy and to have fun!" As he spoke he did a cartwheel and landed back in his Indian-style sitting position. Kyouya couldn't help but think the boy was a little _too _energetic. Rather obnoxious, really.

"Well, we all have to grow up sometime." Kyouya said.

"Not in Neverland. No one grows old in Neverland."

The excitement was finally too much for little ten-year-old Mitsukuni to bear and he began bouncing on his bed. "Amazing!" He shouted.

Excitement bubbled in Kyouya as well, but of course, he kept it hidden. "That still doesn't explain how you got here."

"That's easy," the blonde said casually. "I flew."

Kyouya's amazement was hard to hide. "You flew?!" he and Mitsukuni said together, jumping off their beds.

"Yeah," Pan said. "You just think happy, wonderful thoughts and…that reminds me! Where are Tink and Bells?" He began searching the room again.

"Who?" the brothers said together.

"My fairies." The boy replied casually.

"But there's no such thing as—" Kyouya was interrupted by a hand over his mouth. The strange boy was sure quick.

"Don't say that!" Peter Pan said, his eyes wide. This was the first time they'd seen him do anything but smile. "Everytime a child admits he does not believe in fairies, somewhere a fairy falls down dead!" Pan's soft but dirty hand slid cautiously from Kyouya's mouth, so Kyouya blurted, "I do not believe in fairies." He smirked. What harm could it do? He was only trying to push Peter's buttons. Fairies weren't real anyway. But the look of terror in Peter Pan's eyes argued otherwise.

"Oh no!" he shrieked. "Tink?! Bells!"

"It's about time," said two tiny, beautiful little voices that sounded like the chiming of two tiny bells. At that moment, the light of the lamp left its glass casing and floated above it, slowly drifting toward the boys. It took a while for Kyouya's eyes to register that the ball of light was actually two tiny people with rapidly fluttering wings, like hummingbirds.

"They're beautiful!" Mitsukuni said, jumping from his bed and reaching out to touch them. In unison, the two fairies' tiny hands smacked Mitsukuni's finger.

"Ouch!"

"Yeah," Peter laughed. "They're kinda mean."

"Us?" the fairies said. Then they spoke individually.

"You were the one who told us to hide in a lamp…" one started.

"…and made us wait forever!" the other finished. They joined voices again. "Aren't you gonna introduce us to your new friends, boss?" Though their tiny voices were tinged with rudeness, they still rang beautifully like magical bells.

The Ootori boys' eyes finally adjusted enough that they could make out the fairies' little details. Both tiny boys looked exactly the same, even down to the same acorn-red, pixie-spiked haircut. They were naked except for a small patch of leaves that covered their…swimsuit areas, almost like skirts. Their petite bodies sparkled and glowed golden yellow like little suns. Their tiny, tiny eyes were as golden as the light they emitted. On their backs were wings that moved almost too fast to be seen. When they were still they looked like the veiny, delicate wings of a dragonfly. Needless to say, the sight of them was breathtaking.

Peter Pan gestured to the tiny creatures that now stood on his index finger side by side. "This is Tinkeru," he pointed to the fairy on the right, "and this is Kao-bell." He pointed to the identical copy on the left.

"Wrong again, boss!" The fairies chimed. "I'm Tinkeru," the left fairy said.

"And I'm Kao-bell," said the right.

"Cow-bell?" Kyouya asked, trying not to laugh.

"Don't question me," the little fairy sang. "This is _your_ dream."

"Just call us Tink and Bells," Tinkeru added. "That's what the boss calls us."

"I'm Mitsukuni," said Mitsukuni.

"I'm Kyouya," said Kyouya. Together, they said the only thing they could think to say to a fairy.

"Pleased to meet you."

**Does anyone else find it ironic that the twins are fairies? Tee hee. You know what would be magical? Reviews! You know what would be better? Favourites! I'm still offering presents and honourable mentions!**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!" **

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	5. Happy Thoughts

**I promised honourable mentions and presents, and so far only ONE person has earned them! **

**Thank you, Lilith045 for favouriting. For being my first favourite, I give you a 3 liter jar full of pixie dust and a map to Neverland so you can fly there whenever you want! Just don't forget your happy thoughts!**

**V. Happy Thoughts**

Mitsukuni stared at the delicate creatures in awe. "Do all fairies look alike?" he asked.

"I'm offended!" Tink chimed, putting his hand on his chest.

"What a hasty generalization!" Bells added, mimicking the other's action.

With identical sly smiles, they answered, "We're twins."

"Oh yeah," Peter Pan added. "They can be a little rude, too."

The twin fairies giggled together. Such a sound it was! It was like nothing the Ootori boys had ever heard. Each little giggle was the chime of a bell, and together they made music that somehow seemed to shimmer like the fairies' delicate wings. The beautiful sound was almost hypnotic.

"Hey," they tiny voices chimed again. When the boys came back to reality, the fairies were no longer standing on Peter's grubby finger. "What's this? A diary?" They laughed together again. Kyouya's eyes darted toward the source of the sound and he gasped, running toward the mischievous little pixies. The black book that held his personal thoughts and calculations was somehow floating in mid-air. It too was giving off a golden yellow glow. The tiny twins giggled as the pages turned and ripped out on their own, flying about the room. Poor Kyouya chased each sheet of paper and jumped up to grab them.

"Hey!" The spectacled boy shouted. Mitsukuni and Peter were on the floor, laughing. "Mitsukuni! Pan! This is by no means funn—ah!" Laughter echoed louder through the nursery as Kyouya slipped and fell on his back. "How are you doing this?!" he screamed at the snickering fairies. "Stop it! I order you to stop!"

"They won't…listen…to you!" Pan said between bursts of laughter. "They only listen to me."

"Well, make them stop!" Kyouya shouted, still chasing flying bits of paper.

"Why should he?" One of the fairies jeered.

"He's having as much fun as we are!" heckled the other.

Kyouya's face eerily resembled his father's as it glowed tomato-red. He growled at the pesky pixies, swatting at them like flies and ignoring their laughter.

"Ow!" he shrieked. "They just bit me!"

Fists smacked against the hardwood floor as the laughing boys laughed even harder.

"You're going to wake Fuyumi!" Kyouya screamed. This finally got the other boys' attention.

"Tink. Bells. Let the book down," Peter sighed, wiping tears from his eyes. The twins reluctantly dropped the book to the floor, not bothering to let it down slowly or carefully. Kyouya scrambled to retrieve its remains.

"How did they…do that?" Kyouya asked, pushing up his glasses. He was both frustrated and intrigued.

"Oh," Peter said, helping Mitsukuni to his feet. "I haven't told you yet? It's just Pixie Dust"

"Pixie Dust?" The Ootori boys said quizzically.

"Yeah," he smiled. "How else could I have flown here?"

Behind his glasses, Kyouya's eyes grew wide with wonder. "So…you really did…?"

"You really flew?" Mitsukuni helped his step-brother find the words.

"Of course!" Peter exclaimed.

"But how?" The boys said together.

"You really are thick, aren't you?" two tiny bells rang. Each fairy rapped a tiny fist on each boy's head, annoying them.

"You just think happy, wonderful thoughts, and they lift you into the air!" Peter Pan shouted. With these words, Peter leapt gracefully onto the mantle at the other side of the room, making the boys gasp in amazement.

"G…Get down from there!" Kyouya shouted. "You'll break your neck!"

Pan and his two tiny companions laughed together. "You're worried about me?" The blonde smiled, floating down to ruffle Kyouya's black hair. "How thoughtful! Wouldn't want to harm my pretty little head, would we?" Kyouya pushed Peter's grubby hand away, but was too amazed to roll his eyes. The Pan boy jumped into the air and swam through it like it was a swimming pool, dazzling the boys with suspended somersaults and airborne acrobatics.

"He can fly!" Mitsukuni exclaimed, jumping for joy.

"He can fly," Kyouya whispered in shock, cleaning his glasses with his night-shirt. When he put them back on, he blinked rapidly. His vision wasn't failing him. There really _was_ a flying boy in his bedroom.

"You can, too," Peter smiled. He floated back down to the ground, keeping eye contact with a bewildered Kyouya the entire time. Their eyes stayed interlocked as Pan reached above his head and plucked Tink and Bells out of the air. Peter ignored their simultaneous chimes of protest and held each fairy above each of the boys' heads. "Close your eyes," he whispered, shaking the fairies like salt and pepper shakers.

A magical sensation came over the boys. Their entire bodies tingled with tiny electric shocks. It felt like warm snow was falling on them, and the gorgeous sound of wind chimes filled their ears. Suddenly, both boys felt happier than they'd ever felt. Shimmering dust coated their bodies, which felt lighter than air. They knew that the ability to fly was inside them, but they did not yet know how to use it.

"Open your eyes," Pan's voice echoed in their ears. It, too, sounded like wind chimes. The boys could feel their bodies glowing. The heat that resonated from their bodies made them feel like giant light bulbs. "Now, just think happy thoughts, and up you'll go."

Mitsukuni knew his happy thought immediately. "Cake!" He shouted, and images of chocolate cake, strawberry cake, cheesecake, carrot cake, crumb cake, and every other kind of cake imaginable filled his mind. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on his happy thought. The sweet smell of chocolate cake filled his nose as the taste of cheesecake tickled his taste buds. As if he were being shot from a cannon, the tiny boy lifted off the floor, faster than he could ever run. Just before he hit the ceiling, he curled his body and did an awkward, unsteady flip. Mitsukuni's boyish eyes widened even more, and he looked down at his brother. "I can fly!" He screamed. He pinched his own arm to be sure he wasn't dreaming. When he realized all this was really happening, he screamed louder, "I CAN FLY!" The boy clumsily floated near his bedroom ceiling like a child learning to swim, shouting over and over, "I can fly! I can fly!"

Kyouya stood with his feet still on the ground and his eyes shut tight. He didn't understand why his attempts weren't working. He had to admit he was still a bit skeptical about flying, but hadn't he just witnessed his own brother shoot off the floor like a human firework? Hadn't he been covered in fairy dust? If his brother could do it, why couldn't he? He was thinking the happiest thought he had.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice asked, as if the speaker could read his mind. Kyouya's eyes blinked open and he was shocked to see Peter's violet eyes not a foot from his own.

"What?" It came out as a whisper.

"What's your happy thought?" Peter whispered, mimicking Kyouya. He smiled a warm smile at the stern boy in front of him, hoping to invoke a smile in him as well.

"I was thinking about inheriting my father's company. Earning lots of money. Making my father proud…" Kyouya said nervously, avoiding Peter's eyes. "It's the only happy thought I have."

Much to Kyouya's surprise, Peter Pan laughed. "Is that really what makes you happy?" he asked, still smiling. Deep grey eyes met with violet ones.

"I…" Kyouya began. "I don't know. It's what I've always told myself."

"Why?" Peter's smile faded. "Why do you make yourself want something when deep down you really don't? Think. Would it really make you happy to be rich…and alone? What is your _real_ happy thought, Kyouya?"

The raven-haired boy had to concentrate on not letting his anger over the tactless comment get the best of him. Now wasn't the time. Yushio Ootori had always taught his son to stay as close to people as possible and never let his weaknesses show, and anger was a weakness, after all. Instead, Kyouya focused on more important matters. Kyouya _wanted _to fly. He didn't know why; it wouldn't benefit him in any way. Briefly, he actually considered trying it just for the sheer thrill. Deep down inside, he was longing for the intoxicating pleasure of freedom. He longed for the kind of freedom he remembered experiencing back in the days when his only worries were the suspenseful climaxes of his sisters ever-too-thrilling bedtime stories. Bedtime stories. The carefree land of Neverland seemed so far away and yet so close.

Kyouya's closed his eyes again. The beautiful shores of the island of Neverland flashed in Kyouya's mind. Exotic mermaids swam beneath pirate ships in the ocean of his imagination. Glowing fairies dotted lush green forests with trees taller than the tallest skyscraper. His mind's eye could see Lost Boys laughing and running on the ground beneath him as he flew through the clouds, his little brother and Peter Pan flying on either side of him. He opened his eyes to meet Peter's again. The Pan boy was smiling wider than before and his hands were wrapped around Kyouya's. Disappointment sunk in as Kyouya realized he was still standing in front of the Pan boy. That is until he noticed the world around him slowly sinking, down, down, down. A small smile crossed his lips.

"Am I…?" Kyouya's voice cracked. "Am I doing this…myself?" With these words he felt the warmth of Peter's hands disappear. Peter smiled wider and held his hands up so Kyouya could see them, nodding and wiggling his fingers.

Peter Pan put his lips to Kyouya's ear and whispered, "You can fly." Kyouya knew now what he had to live for. _This _was his happy thought. For the first time since Peter crashed through the nursery window, he saw Kyouya's smile.

**Tee hee! I threw in some mild Kyoumaki for you guys. Hope you like. I think this is my favourite chapter so far. You wanna know what my happy thought is? Reviews! Please help me fly! =]**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	6. A New Mother

**Hey everyone! I didn't get a chance to edit this, so hopefully it doesn't suck balls. **

**Thank you Cherry Maiden for reviewing, favouriting, and adding me to your favourite authors list! I gave Peter Pan directions to your bedroom window so he can take you away to Neverland! Enjoy! **

**VI. A New Mother**

The papered walls zipped past the flying Kyouya in a blur. He was surprised to feel shouts and laughs of excitement escape from his own throat. Soaring high above his bedroom floor gave him a feeling of total liberation. Every care he had ever had immediately escaped from his mind, leaving him with nothing but happy thoughts and pixie dust. It had felt like years since he'd felt this way. Free. Even while he played pirates and Indians with Mitsukuni, he had always kept an ear out for the sound of his father's footsteps down the hall. After all, he just couldn't let his father know he partook in such frivolous affairs. Even while he listened to Fuyumi's fanciful stories, a small voice in the back of his mind told him not to take them seriously, constantly reminding him that he'd have to grow up someday. But no more. Now, he didn't care if he woke Fuyumi. He didn't care if his father came home. He didn't care if the whole world saw him in his current state, minus composure or seriousness. He _wanted _the world to know that there was more to Kyouya Ootori. He wanted the world to know that he could _live, _because until now, he hadn't even known it.

Because Kyouya was always so quick to learn things, he was soon adept at flying. He even found himself mocking Mitsukuni for his lack of flying skill. The joy he felt was so incredible he felt like his heart was going to explode. It was as if the burden of time, past, present, and especially future, was being lifted from his shoulders. Now, with nothing to weigh him down, he could soar. He could fly.

"I can fly…" he whispered to himself, using muscles in his face that have nearly atrophied to smile from ear to ear. A genuine smile. "I CAN FLY!"

Peter Pan touched down to the ground, waiting for the boys get their excitement out of their system. He and his fairies watched the boys and laughed at their pitiful attempts to do flips and twists and turns. Tink and Bells made little bets with each other about when each boy would crash and what they would crash into.

"You owe me a tea-buttercup and a shiny from the abandoned pirate cave," said Tinkeru, giggling.

"No I don't!" Kao-bell sniggered. "You said I owe you a pirate shiny if the little blonde one crashed into the _mantle, _not the _fireplace_. You're only getting the buttercup." The fairies and Pan were still giggling as Mitsukuni emerged from the depths of the sooty fireplace, covered in grime and coughing up a storm. When Mitsukuni sneezed and a puff of black smoke blew out his nose, even Kyouya couldn't help but laugh. Clutching his chest and laughing harder than he had in years, he tumbled to the ground, crashing into the block tower that Peter had previously built.

Pan rushed to help the fallen boy, but before he could reach out to him something shiny on the floor caught his eye. Peter bent down to examine Kyouya's glasses, turning them around and around in his hands like they were a piece of moon rock. Meanwhile, on the other side of the nursery, Kao-bell smirked and held his tiny hand out to his brother, who sighed and pulled out his nearly microscopic earring. "Fine, you win," Tinkeru said, helping Bells fasten the earring in his ear. Kao-bell had bet that if the "boy with the eye windows" crashed, Peter would immediately rush to help him. Somehow Bells could tell that his boss had really connected with the black-haired boy.

Dizzily, Peter examined the now blurry room through Kyouya's glasses. "What do you use these for, anyway?" he asked an annoyed Kyouya, who was now sitting in the center of a pile of blocks and brushing himself off. "I think I've seen Hook wearing these things."

The word "Hook" startled Kyouya. Could this be the same "Hook" he had always pretended to be when he and Mitsukuni played? Could this be the same Hook who played the villain in Fuyumi's tales? "I use them to see," he replied.

Peter took out his beloved mirror and examined himself from all angles, pushing his hair into different positions and making different flirty faces. "How do I look? I've always noticed they make you look rather distinguished. I can only imagine the wonders they could do for _moi_." With the last French word he put his hand to his chest and fluttered his eyelashes.

Rolling his eyes, Kyouya said, "Okay, you've had your fun, but I really need them back now."

"Oh really?" Peter smirked. Kyouya could barely see the boy's impish grin, but he could tell he was up to no good. Just as Kyouya had expected, the blonde jumped up and darted toward the ceiling. "You gotta catch me first!"

Kyouya couldn't help but smile at the boy. Yes, he was obnoxious and conceited, but he was intriguing. At times he sounded like a total idiot, and at others he spoke like a scholar. He had a certain charm about him that Kyouya couldn't help but like. Squinting to see, Kyouya flew after the boy. "Hey," he laughed. "No fair! I can hardly see!"

"Neither can I," called Peter Pan, squinting through the glasses, "so we're even." The two boys laughed and flew clumsily, running into walls and various other objects. Happy thoughts were beginning to come much easier to Kyouya. Beneath them, two tiny, glowing twins were perched on Mitsukuni's sooty head, brushing off his hair.

"Hey Tink," Kao-bell whispered to his brother. "Ya think those two might start getting along a little too well?"

"What?" Tinkeru stopped grooming Mitsukuni and met golden eyes with his brother. "No way. They're way too different."

The fairies were shocked to hear a different voice coming from beneath them. "But it does seem like Peter is bringing out the best in Kyouya," Mitsukuni said. "Who knows? The two of them might turn out to be best friends." Little did Mitsukuni know that the words he had just said angered the pixies to no end. Tiny wings started beating furiously and their little bodies glowed faintly red. They would _not _be replaced. Exchanging an angry look, the twins flew up behind Kyouya and sharply yanked his hair, sending him plummeting toward the ground.

Though Peter's vision was blurred, he noticed and zoomed toward the falling Kyouya like an Olympic diver. Just before Kyouya could land on Mitsukuni's pointed bedpost, potentially breaking his back, Pan darted beneath him and cradled him in his arms protectively. Slowly, Peter lowered Kyouya onto the bed beneath them and sat down beside him. Pan removed the glasses from his face and gently placed them back on Kyouya's nose. Had he not been in shock, Kyouya would have been fuming.

Before Kyouya's anger could boil, Pan was already stomping toward his fairy companion, glowing almost as red as they were. "What the hell did you think you two shady twins were doing? You could have killed him!"

The fairies' glowing aura died down a little and they worked hard to appear innocent. "We had nothing else to do," they replied in identical puppy-dog voices, "we were bored."

"You were bored?! That's no excuse for nearly killing an innocent boy! Kyouya did nothing to you two. I want you to apologize!"

"What?!" the fairies shouted in shock. "Appologize?"

"Say you're sorry!" Pan said with a tone that reminded Kyouya of his father. He didn't realize Pan even _possessed _the emotion anger.

"No," the twins chimed together, crossing their arms and standing back to back with perfect symmetry.

"No?!" Pan's face was beet-red now, and his forehead was beaded with moisture.

"No!"

"Fine, then from now on, I'm not speaking to you guys," Pan said, turning his back on his fairies, his chin in the air, and marching back to his new best friend.

The red-heads gasped tiny bell chimes together and exchanged a worried look. "Well," Kao-bell sighed, "now we know." Without saying goodbye, the two little fireflies darted out the window and into the night, leaving a trail of pixie dust behind them.

"Where did they go?" Mitsukuni asked, walking over to the bed where his brother and their new friend sat.

"Don't worry about them," Pan said, gesturing indifferently. "They're just heading back home. They'll probably be back with me the next time I come. We get into little fights all the time. They never last very long."

"You plan on coming back?" Kyouya asked. "Why?

"Why?" Pan asked, looking hurt. "Don't you want me here? I'll come for the stories, of course!"

"You know, not all of Fuyumi's stories are about you," Kyouya said, pushing up his glasses to make them shine darkly.

"I know," Pan replied. "I like them all. I love that in the end good _always _triumphs over evil and they all have a happy ending! I'm dying to know what happens to the lady with the glass slipper! You never let her finish that story," he added with a frown.

"Cinderella? She finds her prince and they live happily ever after. Like always."

"Well, I'm glad!" Peter shouted, jumping to his feet and standing proudly with his hands on his hips.

"My mother used to tell me stories before I went to bed," Mitsukuni said, smiling his innocent smile. "That was before she became so preoccupied with my step-father to pay attention to us." He sighed, as did Kyouya. He never really liked that woman.

"What does a mother do?" Peter asked after a moment of silence. His words startled the boys.

"What does a mother do?" Kyouya repeated, confused.

"Yes," Peter pressed on. "I don't have a mother, so I've never known what a mother was for."

"You don't have a mommy _or _a daddy?" Mitsukuni asked, misty eyed. "How aweful!" Kyouya just sighed again. He had never really known his mother. Before his parents were divorced, she was always too busy to notice him.

"What are mommies for?" Mitsukuni asked himself. "Well, my mommy always makes us breakfast and makes sure we take our medicine when we're sick. Before she remarried, my mommy used to comfort me when I was sad and kiss me on the forehead to tell me everything was going to be alright. She used to tuck me in and tell me and Chika-chan bedtime stories. Chika-chan never listened to them, because he was too serious. At least that's what he said. I think he was just putting up false pretenses." Mitsukuni shot a glance at his step-brother out of the corner of his eye as he said this, trying to make a point. The baby-faced boy really was smarter than he appeared sometimes.

"I know!" Peter exclaimed, catching Mitsukuni and Kyouya off guard. "Why don't you come back to Neverland with me, Kyouya? You could be our mother!"

"But mothers are supposed to be…" He was going to say "female," but Pan cut him off. He was too busy deciding Kyouya's future for him to listen to what he had to say.

"Oh, it's perfect! You can take care of us and tell us stories—"us" meaning me and the Lost Boys, of course. You'd be the perfect mother! I can see it now!" Peter grabbed Kyouya's hand and dragged him to the open window. He was already floating in the air outside the window before Kyouya interrupted him.

"I can't!" Kyouya blurted, even though he really did want to run away to Neverland.

Peter furrowed his brow. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know any stories," he lied.

"Don't be silly! You've heard that lovely girl's stories so many times that I'm sure you can recite them all by heart!"

"But I don't like those stories," he lied again. "They're too unrealistic."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, his violet eyes sparkling.

"They all end in happy endings. Real life never has a happy ending."

"_You _could have a happy ending," Peter said, staring past Kyouya's glasses into his deep gray eyes. Kyouya looked back at him, genuinely intrigued. "The future is what you make it, Kyouya."

"Well," Kyouya began, hanging his head and breaking eye contact, "we don't always decide our own futures. Sometimes the future is decided for us. I can never have my happy ending because I'm the third son. Everything's always been this way. My brothers will inherit Father's company, and I will be left in their shadow. Forever. But maybe…just maybe, if I work really hard, I can make my father proud enough. But I doubt it. It will never happen."

"But do you really want it to happen?" Pan asked, sitting on the window ledge.

"Of course I do!" Kyouya turned around and began walking back to Mitsukuni's bed, shaking his head.

"Why?"

Kyouya stopped dead in his tracks. He pushed up his glasses to hide the shock in his eyes. Why? He hadn't really thought about it before. Why did he want his father's company? He knew that if he really set his mind to something, he could make as much money as his father made in a business of his own, so money wasn't the reason. Power was out, too, because he knew he was clever enough to become just as successful as his father. Now that he actually thought about it, the only reason he wanted to inherit his father's company was because he wanted to make his father proud. But there was that question again. Why? Why did he want his father to be proud of him? He had no answer. Suddenly, Kyouya realized he had been living his entire life to impress someone else. What kind of life was that to live? It was increasingly harder to justify staying in his house when the beautiful island of Neverland was waiting for him…calling to him…

"What about Fuyumi? Or my brothers, or—"

Kyouya's reasonings were interrupted by a warm hand on his shoulder and a familiar presence behind him. Peter Pan put his lips dangerously close to Kyouya's ear from behind and whispered, "Forget them, Kyouya. Forget them all. Come with me and you'll never _ever _ have to worry about grown-up things again."

The offer was incredibly tempting. Kyouya turned his head toward Peter's and whispered, "Never is an awfully long time."

**Phew! That chapter was MUCH longer than I originally intended, but I had to incorporate the twins' jealousy. Well, I hope you liked! Just to let you all know, I won't be updating until probably sometime in August. Oh the suspense! So sorry to make you wait.**


	7. The Greatest Adventure

VII. The Greatest Adventure

"Never is an awfully long time," Kyouya said, fighting back the tears that were threatening to form in his eyes. The presence of Peter standing ever so close behind him made the tempting offer even more difficult to decline, but Kyouya couldn't understand why. Already, in the time he'd been in Kyouya's house, the boy had managed to annoy him to the fullest extent his mind would allow, and thrill him in more ways than he thought possible. At times, he couldn't stand Peter, but he also couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

The warm breath on Kyouya's neck pinpricked his skin. "Picture it, Kyouya," his smooth voice whispered. Pan let his lips gently brush against Kyouya's ear so he'd fully take in his words. "Picture Neverland"

"I…" Kyouya's throat was dry and the words came out cracked and thin, "I am."

"_Live_ it," Peter whispered. As he spoke he squeezed Kyouya's shoulders and then spun him around to see into his deep coal eyes.

"How?" Kyouya murmured, breaking eye contact.

Peter's lips slowly curved into a warm smile and he grabbed Kyouya's arm, spinning him around and making him yell in surprise. The smiling child dragged Kyouya to the windowsill and pushed the glass, making it swing open to reveal thousands of shimmering stars. Kyouya's wrinkled eyebrows revealed his confusion, but Peter's eyes said "trust me." So he did.

Pan's gleaming eyes were bursting with enthusiasm. "Just keep an open mind…and suddenly you'll find Never Never Land." Had anyone else said these words to Kyouya, he probably would have just rolled his eyes and dismissed it, but Peter, though he was obnoxious, seemed so pure and genuine that Kyouya could not doubt him.

The boys hadn't noticed the pitter-pat of Mitsukuni's little feet behind them, so when he spoke, they were both a little startled.

"What does it look like, Peter?" Mitsukuni's childish voice chimed.

"Well," Peter began, slightly annoyed that the little one had interrupted them, "your lovely storyteller girl was pretty spot-on. It's an island…"

"A big one?" Mitsukuni chirped.

"No…quite small, actually," Peter replied, jumping up and dramatically gazing off into the distance, "and nicely crammed, so there's hardly any space between one adventure and another. And it's summer and winder and spring and fall, all at the same time one different parts of the island."

"It sounds wonderful!" Mitsukuni cried, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Oh, it is!" Peter smiled and turned back to Kyouya. "Now," he said, "Live it."

"I don't," Kyouya began, "understand what you mean."

Peter laughed (which irked Kyouya a little) and rushed over to him, pulling from the windowsill and onto the floor. He was already a little peeved at Peter for treating him like a rag doll, but he didn't show it. The blonde sat with his legs crossed, facing the confused and annoyed yet completely cool-faced Ootori.

He gently ran his fingers over Kyouya's glasses and said, "Close your eyes."

Kyouya obeyed.

"What do you see?"

There was a brief hesitation. "N…Nothing."

"Close them tighter, Kyouya. Concentrate." Pan leaned in closer, clenching his fists like he was cheering his new friend on.

"I see a…what appears to be a pool of colours."

Peter's violet eyes widened in wonder. "Yes, Kyouya! Squeeze them tighter!"

Kyouya obeyed.

"Tighter!"

"Yes," Kyouya's voice wouldn't go any louder than a whisper. If it wasn't for the dazzling colours that swam through his mind at present, he would have snapped at Peter.

"And the pool will take on a shape."

To Kyouya's surprise, Pan was right. The colours all meshed tighter to form some sort of vague form whose features slowly began to sharpen.

"Yes."

"And the colours will become brighter."

And to Kyouya's surprise, they did. Each swirling colour and shade glowed brighter in his mind. Colours that had previously been dull were now vibrant and full of life.

"Yes." Kyouya spoke louder now.

"And they will become so bright, that in a moment they will catch on fire. And in that moment…just before they do…"

"I see it, Peter! I see it!" Mitsukuni's shriek caught Peter off-guard yet again. _How long has this kid been sitting next to me? _he thought, a little miffed.

"Well," he breathed a rather sarcastic laugh, "I had no doubts that _you _would see—"

"I…" Kyouya hesitantly stuttered. Peter's attention was immediately drawn back to him. "I see it."

Peter had the brimming eyes of a father whose son was just learning to walk or speak.

"Yes, Kyouya!" he almost cried. "What do you see?"

Kyouya spoke just above a whisper. "I see an island. Trees. Very tall trees. And…a lagoon…with mermaids. A mountain…"

With each word Pan sat up taller, clenched his fists harder, and smiled brighter. "Yes, Kyouya!"

"With snow…lots of lights…fairies. And…a big pirate ship on…on the west coast, I think. And…" But then, just as Peter had promised, the island went up in brilliant flames, disappearing into the blackness of his mind.

"Yes, Kyouya! That's my island!" Unable to contain himself any longer, the flamboyant blonde threw his arms around Kyouya, breaking his reverie. He shook the boy until his glasses nearly fell off, screaming, "I knew it! I knew it! I just knew it!" Kyouya's eyes blinked open, slowly processing the fact that Peter was…_hugging_ him.

"What did you know exactly?" Kyouya asked, the bulging vein in his forehead revealing his annoyance.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Peter bellowed dramatically, taking Kyouya's shoulders and smiling wider than should be physically possible. Kyouya answered with a raised eyebrow.

Peter lowered his voice and took Kyouya's chin in his fingers, looking into his eyes. "You used your imagination, silly." Then, ruffling Kyouya's hair with his hand, he hopped to his feet. "I knew you still had one."

Kyouya couldn't help but smile. He was soon buried under Mitsukuni, who giggled, "You're back, Kyouya! I missed you!"

_Missed me?_ The thought. _Where have I been?_ He then realized what a good question it really was. Where _had _he been? _Who _had he been? For years, he had been nothing but an empty shell of himself, living for someone else. He wanted now more than ever to escape to the magical place he had seen in his mind…so what was holding him back?

Before he could do anything about it, Kyouya was once again being dragged against his will.

"Now come on, what are you waiting for?" an eager Pan giggled, dragging his new mother toward the window again.

"Let's fly!" Kyouya's other hand was now seized by Mitsukuni's tiny one. The two giggling blondes had nearly succeeded in finally pulling Kyouya out into the open air, but for some reason, he wouldn't fly.

"Come on, Kyo-chan!"

"Just think happy thoughts, remem--?"

"I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU!" Kyouya finally shattered. "I can't come with you!" Kyouya's words tasted like poison and stung as they escaped his throat. They seemed foreign to him, like someone else had spoken them. But he couldn't take them back. Every word he spoke was a lie. He knew his true feelings, but, as always, he hid them from the world.

Looks of shock were plastered on all three of the boys' faces. Together, Peter and Mitsukuni drifted down to stand on the windowsill, still holding Kyouya's hands.

"But…" they said together, their eyes brimming.

"Look," Kyouya snapped, yanking his hands away from the boys' grasps, but longing with every fiber of his being to grab their hands again and soar out the open window, "I can't just run away from home and never come back." _I am lying. Please take me._ "People have responsibilities!" _I don't _have_ to have responsibilities. Why am I doing this? Is my pride really so swollen?! I'm just a coward! I'm afraid that for once in my life, I might actually be HAPPY! _

The glare he shot Peter stung both of their hearts. "Not everything is sunshine and happy thoughts." _What am I saying?! I'm such an idiot! I'm such a COWARD! _

Kyouya was trying harder than he had ever tried to keep himself from slapping himself in the face, or crying, or both.

The disappointment finally crushed Peter's spirit, and the tears that were filling his eyes spilled over. Kyouya's heart burned like it was being ripped from his chest. He had to look away for fear the same thing would happen to him. Peter's hand squeezed Kyouya's shoulder, and his touch burned. Peter tried to see past the glare in Kyouya's glasses, but the stubborn Ootori kept his eyes focused on the toy chest on the floor beside him, concentrating on keeping his sorrow invisible.

"But," Peter began, struggling to keep his voice steady, "you don't _have_ to grow up."

"But I do," Kyouya's quivering voice betrayed him. "We all do."

Mitsukuni sniffed and wiped his nose with his arm. "I…I c-can't leave without…without Kyouya. I'm…s-so…sorry, Peter!!"

Peter paid no attention to the little arms wrapped around his waist. When they finally let go, he sighed and turned to face the open window once more. "Well…I guess this is it then," he said. Before he drifted out the window into the solemn, black Tokyo night, he turned his head slightly to deliver one last message.

"To _live_…would be an awfully big adventure."

**Great. The title of this chapter has me singing the theme from the '80s animated version of _The Hobbit. "The greatest adventure…is what lies ahead…"_**

**Oh my god, you guys! This chapter almost made me cry while I was writing it! And I don't cry! It wasn't as bad when I first wrote it, when I was getting all in the heat of the moment and stuff, but when I was typing it and rereading it, I was like, "This is freaking sad!"**

**Anyway, hope you're enjoying it all. R&R please! =3 I'm almost done with writing my next chapter, but I don't know when I will be posting it. And hey, you know what would make me really happy? If you have some friends who you think would enjoy this story, point them my way! I really want some more readers! Please and thank you!**

**Oh, and don't worry. They're gonna get to Neverland eventually. Geez! I've drawn out the nursery scene seven chapters! I write too much. lol**


	8. Never Never

**VIII. Never, Never**

Peter didn't know if his words had touched Kyouya or not, and he didn't want to wait around to find out; it would be too painful if they hadn't. So, with his shoulders hanging, he slowly began to drift away from the third floor window of the desolate Ootori estate. Mitsukuni was too bust watching longingly as his new friend drifted away to notice his step-brother wipe a single tear from his cheek. The mournful silence in the room was interrupted by a whisper.

"Wait…"

Mitsukuni jumped at the sudden sound of his brother's voice. By the time Kyouya got to the window, Peter's back was at least ten yards away.

"Wait!" Kyouya called to him, reaching his arm out as if he were going to pull him back. Peter hung still in the air, eyes wide, trying to decide whether he should turn around or if the voice he heard was in his imagination.

After a few minutes, Peter finally gained the courage to face what may or may not be. When he turned around, not six inches from his face, gleaming in the moonlight, were Kyouya's glasses and timid smile. Peter's heart skipped a beat, and the glow of his lit-up face had nothing to envy of the light of the moon. After a long, beautiful silence, Kyouya was once again being squeezed to death by a smiling Pan. Peter rubbed his head against Kyouya's like a cuddling kitten, crying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kyouya! You'll be an amazing mother! I just know it! Thank you!"

Kyouya could feel an extra pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, which he immediately recognized as his baby brother's. "Thank you, Kyo-chan," his tiny voice twittered. "We're going to Neverland!"

Flustered, Kyouya straightened his glasses and tried to regain his air-balance. Peter flew up and down like he was jumping on air, screaming, "Kyouya! My pal! My mother! _Mon ami! __Ma mère!"_

_French? _Kyouya thought._ Why does he know French? I'll have to inquire about that later._

"Hey, you idiot!" Kyouya whisper-screamed. "You're going to wake the entire city!"

Ignoring Kyouya's nagging, Peter grabbed his arm and yelled, "Here we go!"

"Wait!" This time it was Mitsukuni's voice.

Peter sighed, not entirely sure why the little one was coming at all. "What now?"

"I'll be right back." As Mitsukuni spoke, he was already flying back toward his window.

"Peter squeezed Kyouya's hand. "C'mon. Let's go without him."

"Well, thought it would be a much easier flight, I'm afraid I have to wait for him, since he did the same for me," Kyouya replied logically.

Peter sighed, but (reluctantly) waited. They watched as Mitsukuni fished through Kyouya's pillowcase and pulled out something shiny. Quickly, the little boy zoomed to the toy chest at the foot of Kyouya's bed and pulled something out. In a matter of seconds, Mitsukuni was clutching Kyouya's hand with one tiny hand and his old teddy bear in the other. Kyouya eyed the stuffed animal, sheepishly remembering how cruel he'd been when he locked it away from Mitsukuni, telling him not to rely on "foolish things like this" to make him happy. Kyouya's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of energy as they shot off like a rocket, zooming into the pinpricked black velvet above.

"Peter! How do we know where we're going?" Kyouya shouted, his voice shaking from the turbulence.

"What?"

"How do we know where we're going?!"

"Oh," Pan yelled. It was hard to hear over the whooshing wind that whizzed past their ears. "That's simple! We just follow all the golden arrows!"

The boys were shooting stars across the night sky with golden glowing tails trailing behind them. Their happy thoughts and fairy dust were their only fuel source, but at the moment, happy thoughts were not at all hard to come by. Together they decorated the sky with dazzling flips and turns. Peter was especially adept at the art of airborne acrobatics. Kyouya watched him in awe as the shock finally set in. He was _flying. _Actually _flying! _He was flying away to a magical place where all time is stopped. He will never, _never _grow old. Every care and worry he ever had was left behind in the nursery, and he would never, _never _have to see them again. Memories of his family hospital were fleeing from his mind as fast as he was flying.

"Boy…" Kyouya was shocked to hear Peter's voice very close to him. Just below him, Peter floated on his back, his arms behind his head, smiling coolly. "Why are you crying?" As soon as Pan said these words, a tear appeared on his cheek that did not belong to him. Before Kyouya could look any more confused, Peter's soft fingers were reaching out to brush Kyouya's cheek. Kyouya's fingers did the same, and his eyes widened when he felt moisture on his face that he didn't know was there. _I'm…crying?_ He thought.

Peter held Kyouya's face between his hands and floated to an upright position so they were no longer parallel to the ground miles below them. "It's called 'happiness,'" the boy said with a smile. "See? It's not so bad, is it?"

Leaving Kyouya fully puzzled, Peter bent backwards and twirled into a backflip to take his place at the front of the pack, yards above him. As for Kyouya, he had to see this for himself. Skillfully, (he was a fast learner) he took a nosedive and sped down, down, down toward the rippling lake below. His eyebrows rose when he saw his reflection in the dark water. It wasn't the tears or the bloodshot eyes that were foreign to him. It was the way his misty eyes squinted in an unfamiliar way, creating unfamiliar creases at their corners. It was the way the apples of his cheeks stood out and were tinded a faint pink. But mostly it was the strange way his lips curled over his teeth in a wide, white, genuine smile. The shock of seeing such an alien face in his own reflection caused his smile to fade a little, but it was still there.

He gazed into his own smiling eyes and whispered, "Oh, _there_ you are, Kyouya. I've missed you." Slowly, he reached down to run his fingers through the mirror image of his face, causing it to ripple and briefly disappear. When the water settled down, the face on its surface was especially strange. It was _laughing. _Kyouya was laughing, too. For the first time in a very long while, Kyouya's reflection truly showed exactly how he felt inside.

Twelve yards above him Mitsukuni giggled and shouted, circling Peter who was trying hard to ignore him. Defeated, he sighed.

"Uh…" He began, unsure of what to say. He wasn't even sure why the little one came along; to tell the truth, he didn't really care for the kid one way or the other. He was just there. "Uh…so…what's your name again?"

"You don't know my name yet?" Mitsukuni whimpered, glassy eyed. "You know Kyo-chan's!"

"Yeah, well…he…yeah. Just what's your name?"

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka-Ootori."

"Meet-sa Honey-what?"

"Mitsukuni Hanino—"

"Look, I'm just gonna call you Honey, 'kay?"

"Oh," Honey beamed, "It's because I'm so sweet, huh?"

"Sure, yeah," Peter said quickly, grabbing Honey's forearm and pulling him down toward the lake.

Kyouya looked up to see two figures zooming toward him at 120 kilometers-per-hour and he screamed. In just seconds he was being pulled at the speed of light into the atmosphere. Clouds whirred past them faster than they could imagine. The feeling was mesmerizing and terrifying all at the same time, at least for the amateurs. The same pool of vibrant colours that Kyouya had seen in his mind earlier that night sped past them, painting the sky around them like a Picasso. Soon, the colours all meshed together to form a tunnel. Peter smiled, letting go of the boys' hands.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kyouya screamed, clutching to Peter's leaf-covered waist as if his life depended on it.

"Just trust me," Pan yelled.

"Are you crazy?! I can't fly this fast on my own!"

"Really, it's okay, Kyo-chan!" Honey's voice echoed behind him.

"Mitsukuni?!"

"It's Honey now." Honey's head appeared next to Kyouya, smiling his chipper smile. "And it's okay. You can let go. Unless you _like _holding Peter like that." He jeered, wagging his eyebrows. Kyouya grunted in annoyance and hesitantly let go. Suddenly, it was like he was swept up by a current. They were speeding faster than a plane could ever take them without even having to try. The light at the end of the colour-tunnel was growing larger and brighter. Larger and brighter, until it was nearly on fire.

"This is illogical!" Kyouya yelled.

"This is the kind of thing they don't teach your text books." Pan replied. "The world is full of mysteries. You just have to believe." He cast a warm glance at Kyouya, who was trying to decide whether to scream or to laugh. When he looked ahead of him again, he jumped. "Oh! Quick! Grab on!" Peter shouted, sticking out his arms. The boys obeyed, and suddenly the light was so bright, that for a moment, everything went dark. And when the darkness turned to light again, the boys couldn't believe their eyes.

**Ugh. I had no idea of how to end this chapter, so hopefully that was okay. Meh. Hopefully you enjoyed it.**

**I just realized I didn't write my catch phrase last time! Or the time before! Oopsy.**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**--RhythmStickLunatic**


	9. Hook

**Although I hardly have any readers, I will still apologize for not updating in a while. Sowwy! I've had lots of crap going on.**

**Anyway, thank you Narutolover for favouriting. A present for you: Your very own Tinkeru and Kao-bell. (Be sure to let them out of the cage twice a day or they get feisty. Unless you like them feisty.) ;}**

**IX. Hook**

The small, stumpy man whistled happily as he awkwardly waddled his way to the Captain's Quarters. He was a diligent worker, that little man, but that is to be expected when one loves one's job almost as much as one fears one's boss. Small wrinkles bordered his eyes, and the apples of his cheeks were permanently blushed by his ever-present smile. However, his cheerfulness rarely did him any good around the Jolly Roger. The rest of the crew did not exactly favour him. They could be especially brutal on days when there was no one to kill.

"Why so cheery, Smee?" A rough voice taunted. "Captain's been bummin' ya again, eh?" The man's vulgar joke invoked a chorus of rumbling laughter from the rest of the crew.

"Hey," another man growled, attempting an impression of his captain, "why don't ya bend over 'n shine me shoes, lad?" The man jabbed Mr. Smee's backside with a mop handle.

"Oh!" Smee cried, disgruntled but not entirely surprised by his crewmate's physical bullying. He had grown used to being the crew's punching bag over the years. "I'm warnin' you, O'Shea. Don't mock the Cap'n or he'll cast anchor in you!"

The thug named O'Shea replied, "He must cast anchor in _you_ a hell of a lot. 'S why you're his favourite, ain't it, Smee?" Another refrain of childish laughter began.

"He'll skin ya, O'Shea! He…he will! With that hook of 'is," Smee warned, pulling up his trousers and slowly waddling away from the cackling band of pirates.

"'Sright, O'Shea. Better not mess with Smee, or the captain'll get jealous," jeered another large, dirty man. "He's his little plaything, after all."

"Yeah. I'm 'is little plaything, after—Hey, wait a minute! Whatdya mean by that, Flannigan?" The crew rumbled another thunderous roar of laughter as they smacked their knees and pelted dull knives at Smee, their little punching bag. "I have to get to the Cap'n."

"_I have to get to the Captain," _the crew mocked. Smee ignored their heckling as he made his way to the Captain's door. Slowly, he opened the door a crack and peeked his head in. He was sucking in a breath to speak when a shiny silver hook, unattached to an arm, was flung at the doorframe just inches from his face, where it stuck. Immediately following were the shouted words, "DOES NOBODY EVER KNOCK?!"

"S-sorry, Sir," squeaked Smee as he shut the door. For about two minutes, Smee stood absentmindedly, tracing patterns in the wood and waiting for the Captain to let him in. Finally, the door flung open, and there stood the Captain, dressed in his informal red dressing gown. He didn't bother to take off his square reading glasses. The long, black curly wig he usually wore was draped over a wooden head on his desk, and his left arm stopped at the wrist, leaving an empty space where a hand should be. Instead, there was only a scarred stump with a hollow screw socket where the bone was missing.

"Smee…" he said, looking down his nose at the idiot before him. "What are you doing?"

"Y…You told me to knock, Sir," Smee replied, twisting a handkerchief nervously in his sweaty hands.

"And did you knock?" The Captain asked in a sarcastically sweet tone.

"No…" Smee replied. The Captain could practically see the hamster-wheels turning in his subordinate's head. "Oh!" And he reached up to knock on the open door.

"Good form, Smee," the Captain mocked. "Don't hurt yourself." Captain Hook turned his back on his inferior and made his way back to his desk. Under his breath, he added, "Grab that hook and shine it, would you? And call a cabin boy to fix the damned doorframe."

"Yes sir, I'll be right on that, sir," Smee stammered, straining to yank the hook from the wall. After breathing on the hook several times and wiping it with his handkerchief, he added, "Just after we get you all fixed up, Cap'n."

"Ah, Smee, isn't it so much more peaceful with Pan gone?" Hook sighed, standing with his arms out and letting Smee dress him in his formal attire.

"Actually, sir, that's what I came to tell you…"

"How many days has it been?" Hook asked rhetorically, letting Smee position his wig on his head. "Six? Seven? Ah, yes. Plenty of time to relax,"

"Yes, Cap'n. And plenty of time to tidy up the ship. But sir, we might not have…"

"I've started to miss fighting the boy, though." Hook said with a sigh as Smee screwed his shined hook into his empty wrist. "And one day, the flying boy will fall. You know that, Smee."

"Aye, Cap'n, I know it. But that could be sooner than you think, because you see…"

"AYE! It _shall_ be soon, Smee! Revenge is long overdue! That boy will pay, Smee. He _will _pay one of these days," Hook said matter-of-factly, glancing at the stout man out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, you could say that boy did you a favour, Cap'n. Gave you one of your best weapons, he did." Smee smiled, indicating the hook on the Captain's wrist.

"I suppose so," Hook began. With each word, increasing fury and sarcasm made his voice steadily rise. "I mean, the boy _did_ feed my hand to a crocodile, who liked it so much, he's followed me ever since, licking his lips for the rest of me." He turned to tower over the smiling Smee and screamed, "YOU CALL THAT A FAVOUR?!"

"W…Well when ya think of it…it's a sort of compliment," Smee laughed nervously. For a moment the Captain just stared at his idiot of a first-mate like he had three heads. Then he casually lifted his hook and struck Smee's head with the back of it, as if he did it every day (which was probably true).

"Well I want no such compliment!" He shouted and marched back to his desk.

"Right sir," Smee said, rubbing his head, "but if we could get back to important matters…"

"My god, Smee. Are you _always_ talking?" Hook groaned, rubbing his temple with his good hand. "What? What is it? What have you to waste my time with now?"

"Well sir…" Smee said, pulling the curtain to the Captain's window. "Maybe you should take a look outside…"

Hook turned his head and glanced halfheartedly out the window. "Yes, it's a lovely day. I don't think the weather really qualifies as important matters, Smee. Now what is it that you…" he did a double take and then jumped from his seat and to his window, his eyes and head darting around like a bird's.

"Aye, Cap'n," Smee said grimly. "The ice has melted, and the flowers are all in bloom."

Smee was interrupted by a loud crack of splintering wood as the Captain ran his hook through his desk top. A frightening grin turned the corners of his usually frowning mouth. "Pan's back."

. . .

The view was inconceivably brilliant. It was better than a dream. The beauty of the Neverland Kyouya had pictured earlier that night was in no way comparable to what he was seeing now. He had never dreamed he would someday be floating amongst the clouds with the boy of legends, gazing down at an island that could only be described as magical. All he could do was stare; he was in absolute awe. He could not hear the giggles and shouts of his little brother. He could not hear the dramatic rambles of Peter Pan. And he could not hear the distant shouts of the pirates below. He did, however, hear the cannon fire, which awoke him from his daze.

While he was busy staring at the island like a space cadet, Peter had apparently called for Tink and Bells. The rambling that Kyouya didn't hear was evidently a panicked argument.

"You still haven't told us why he's here," the twins said dryly.

"There's no time! Just take them to the lost boys!"

"But you said you weren't going to speak to us again."

"I forgive you! Just go!"

"Fine."

"What's going on?!" As if to answer Kyouya's question, a cannonball headed straight toward him. Peter had to grab his arm to pull him out of harm's way.

"Pirates," Pan replied with a sly smile.

"Pirates?!" Honey and Kyouya screamed together. Their panicking was interrupted by tiny hands on each of their ears and tiny, bell tone voices screaming "Come on!"

Kyouya turned a worried eye toward Peter. "You can't just stay behind! What are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm going to fight, of course!" Pan laughed as he started toward the Jolly Roger.

"Are you crazy?! You're going to get yourself killed!"

Peter stopped and flashed a one-hundred watt smile at Kyouya. "It's nice to know you care. I'll be fine. Don't worry." Quickly, he reached into his leafy clothes and pulled out his beloved mirror. "Take care of it," he said, handing it to Kyouya. "And don't worry. I'll make it back. I always do. I _am _me, after all." With his last conceited remark, he was off.

"Barf," Tinkeru said.

"Gag," said Kao-bell.

"We were his friends first, you know," Tinkeru said as they lead the boys down toward the island. Kyouya was too busy mulling over their use of the word "friend" to notice the fairies' simultaneous cunning grins. They exchanged a quick glance that clearly said "are you thinking what I'm thinking?" which didn't go unnoticed by Mitsukuni.

"Hey Bells," Tink chimed, "I'm gonna go ahead. You know, to keep an eye out for Indians."

"Good idea, Tink," Bells smirked. Off darted Tinkeru into the distance, his fluttering wings buzzing.

They three of them slowed until they were practically stopped. Kyouya was too distracted by worry to notice. _Pan is obnoxious,_ he thought, _and conceited. So why should I care whether or not he gets himself hurt. It would be his own fault. He's of no use to me, anyhow._ But somehow Kyouya felt like he needed Pan. Not for any reasons of personal gain, but because he actually _enjoyed_ his company, which was strange in itself. He introduced a whole new world to Kyouya, literally and figuratively. If it wasn't for Pan, Kyouya wouldn't even know _himself. _

"Why do you hate us so much?" Honey's little voice chirped, bringing Kyouya back to reality again.

"It's not so much _you_ we hate, kid," Bells replied.

"Well, why do you hate Kyo-chan?"

"You know," Kyouya interjected, "it's rather rude to talk about me as if I am not here."

"It's…" Bells began, ignoring Kyouya, "complicated."

"We have time," Honey said. "We have all the time in the world. We _are_ in Neverland, aren't we? 'The magical place where dreams are born and time is never planned?'" The baby-faced boy really was wise beyond his years sometimes.

Bells sighed. Kyouya's intuition told him that this fairy was the softer of the two, though he couldn't really tell them apart. To test his theory, he thought he'd ask a rather bold question and decipher his reaction. "Which one are you, again?" he asked.

"I'm Kao-bell," the fairy replied with cool smile. Kyouya was correct.

"Why do you hate my brother?" Honey repeated, his face as stern as he could make it.

Bells sighed again. "I don't hate you as much as Tink does," he answered truthfully. "He gets jealous a lot more easily than I do. He just doesn't want to be replaced."

"We're not trying to replace you," Kyouya replied. "There is no reason why Peter can't have all of us." Despite his words, the thought of sharing Peter made Kyouya a little angry as well, though he couldn't figure out why. He wasn't at all used to being so unsure about his own emotions.

"That's not how we work," Bells said. "Until Peter came along, we had never let anyone into our lives." Kao-bell's words suddenly struck a chord with Kyouya. They reminded him of himself. "We wouldn't even speak to the other fairies. Of course, none of them would speak to us, either."

"Why not?" Honey asked, suddenly sympathetic.

"I don't really know. It's just how we were. It's probably because nobody saw us as individuals. We were always being clumped into a single being, lacking individuality. But we are different fairies. More different than we seem. But no matter how hard anybody tried, they couldn't seem to tell us apart." Kyouya felt suddenly guilty for asking which one Bells was. "So we locked everyone out. We locked our hearts and trusted the keys only to each other."

Bells sighed again, only this time it was filled with sadness. If Kyouya hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have seen the practically microscopic, sparkling tear rolling down the pixie's tiny cheek. "I guess Tinkeru was ready to let someone in sooner than I was." Bells said. "I admit I _was_ a little impressed with Peter for guessing right…" Kyouya assumed he meant guessing which one was Kao-bell and which one was Tinkeru. "And that's why Tink hates you. He's not used to sharing the people he cares about. Then again, I'm still not used to sharing _Tink_."

As if he were in dire need of a subject change, Bells said, "Oh, we're almost there." Silently, Bells worried about what Tink was going to do. _Don't do anything stupid, _he thought to his brother, though he knew he couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, as if it were a challenge directly to Bells' warning, a speeding arrow struck Kyouya square in the heart. Everything around him slowed down. Just before the world went dark, he could see Kao-bell's tiny face contorted into a shocked expression. The voices echoed in his head as if he were underwater. "No!" They screamed. "Boy!" The voices were growing softer. "Kyo-chan!" Kyouya could feel the air blow past him as he fell. He waited and waited for the pain to come, but strangely it never did. Just before he hit the ground, all he could think was _I've died, haven't I? I'm sorry. Goodbye, Pan._

* * *

**Yay! Those little exchanges between Hook and Smee are so fun to write!**

**I wrote all that today in one sitting. It took three hours. My butt hurts and I'm tired. It's 2:53 in the morning. Night night!**

**"Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**~RhythmStickLunatic**


	10. A Thoughtful Gift

**Sorry I took so long! I had an AMAZING weekend at Gencon, and I've been really busy. But I got to sing and act with **_**Vic Mignogna (!!!!)**_**, so I'm a happy girl!**

**Thank you MikiWoulf1800 for favouriting! My gift to you is a magic doubloon from Marooner's Rock that will grant you three wishes. (Use them wisely!) **

**IMPORTANT:**

**Things to keep in mind: **_**Tootles**_** = Shiro Takaoji (Episodes 6 & 13), **_**Slightly**_** = Kasanoda (Episodes 22 & 23), **_**Pockets**_** = Toru Suzushima (Episode 3), **_**Katz **_**= Nekozawa (Episodes 5, 11, & 13)**

**IX. A Thoughtful Gift**

"Tinkeru!" Kao-bell buzzed at his brother. "When we said we were going to 'get rid of him' I didn't mean kill him!"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?!" Tinkeru yelled back, not looking the least bit sorry. "And besides, it wasn't me! It was one of the Lost boys!"

"But _you_ told them to!" Bells replied, his aura glowing an angry orange.

"Why do you care, anyway? Did you two get all close while I was gone?"

"No! But there's no excuse for killing someone!" Bells screamed, his glow now completely red. "You're sounding just like a pirate!"

Tink's hurt expression immediately gave Bells a pang of guilt, and he covered his mouth. His glow softened until it was golden again. "I…I'm so sorry, Tink. I shouldn't have called you that." Bells knew his only weakness was his twin brother. No matter how stupid or unforgivable Tinkeru's actions were, he would always find a way to forgive him somehow. His tiny fingers gently stroked his brother's identical face and he held it in his hands. "I'm sorry," he said again. Tink slowly put his arms around Kao-bell's waist, and Bells wrapped his arms around Tink's neck. They stared into each other's eyes.

"I forgive you," Tink whispered. Then, to Kao-bell's dismay, he pushed himself away from his brother and said, "Besides, now we have the Boss to ourselves. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Bells frowned and tried hard to hide the pain his brother's comment had given him. He couldn't tell Tinkeru what he really wanted, but it certainly wasn't Peter Pan. So he just faked a smile and said, "Yes, Tink. It's what I wanted."

On the ground far below them, a crying Honey jumped up and down, trying his hardest to fly to the fairies above him. However, it was impossible for him to conjure up a single happy thought when his brother lay before him with an arrow in his heart. "What did you do?!" Honey screamed, his voice thick with tears. "How could you do this to him? He did _nothing_ to you! How could you do this?!" The twins above and the Lost Boys about six yards to his right were too wrapped up in their own little worlds no notice his cries.

"I'm a right good shot, ain't I?" a young, stern-faced boy with matted brown hair boasted to the rest of the boys. Like Pan and the others, he was dressed rather savagely, wearing animal fur and assorted leaves.

"Whatever, Tootles! I coulda done it, too!" said a bright red-haired boy who was even more angry-looking than the first.

"No you couldn't, Stinky!" Tootles, the youngest of the Lost Boys said, clenching his fists in a fighting stance.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's 'Slightly!'"

"Slappy?" Tootles teased and stuck out his tongue.

"It's Slightly! Do you wanna die?!" Even the oh-so-tough Tootles cowered in fear at the flaming red-head's outburst. "At least Peter didn't have to _make up_ a name for me! My name was written right on the pinafore I was lost in. 'Slightly Soiled.'"

"Ha!" Tootles chuckled. "Sounds like a Pirate name to me!"

In a split second, Slightly's face was the colour of his deep red hair, and his fist was balled around the younger boy's hair. "Don't you _dare_ bring that up," Slightly snarled. "I've warned you."

A tall, slender boy with short brown hair and bronzed skin stepped between the quarrelling pair. He was accompanied by a female fairy with chin-length brown hair. She was nuzzled in his collarbone, sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. "You guys," the boy stuttered, "Please stop fighting. You'll wake Kanako. Besides, you should be celebrating!"

"Pockets is right," Slightly sighed, letting go of Tootles' hair. He then grabbed the boy's grubby hand and shook it. At the same time, the boys both spat on their other hands and gave each other a wet high five. "Congrats, Tootles. Nice shot." Despite his rough appearance, Slightly really was a kind-hearted boy.

"Thanks!" Tootles smiled and then continued to brag. "Hey Katz! Get out here!"

"Fool!" the boy's dark voice echoed from inside a small cave. The shroud made of dark leaves that he wore was a great contrast to his long blonde hair and light blue eyes. "The sun shines bright today!"

"Come on! I thought you were over that! You don't wanna miss this, Katz! I shot the Kyouya-bird!"

"The menace Tinkeru warned us about?" Katz's voice echoed from the cave.

"Yeah!" Tootles bragged. "Come see!"

Hesitantly, the pale boy called Katz crept out of his cave, and it was easy to tell where he got his nickname. On his left hand was a tattered old cat puppet, and in his other hand he held a dirty stuffed cat with a missing eye and bits of stuffing sticking out.

"You shot the Kyouya-bird?" The boy asked, blinking into the sun.

"Yeah! It's over here! Come see!"

Together, the four boys turned on their heels to see the dead Kyouya-bird, but gasped when someone they didn't recognize stood before them.

"_You _shot him?" Honey growled. His tear-stained face was now steaming red with fury. "_You_ shot Kyouya?" He was staring daggers into the boy called Tootles' eyes.

"Uh…yeah," He replied, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

Mitsukuni's eyes narrowed. "I'm someone you don't wanna mess with." Within seconds, the instincts of a martial artist took over him, and the Haninozuka blood marched through his veins. With incredible force, he charged at Tootles, who just stood with a cocky smirk.

"Yeah, right! Like you--," Tootles began, but before he could finish his sentence, he was on the ground beneath Honey, staring into his fiery eyes. Mitsukuni's tiny hand was wrapped around Tootles' throat, and the other hand was balled into a fist above him. The fist came down with impressive speed and force, cracking into Tootles' cheek. The other Lost Boys were trying to pry him off the other boy when a strange sound echoed through the island.

"Was that…?" one of the boys began.

"The crow!" another boy finished.

The doodle-doo of a crowing rooster echoed through the air again, louder this time. Above, Tink and Bells gasped at each other and darted into their little makeshift home inside the hole of a tree.

"Peter!" The boys all yelled together, as they scrambled to their feet. Slightly, the biggest and toughest of the lost boys, had finally managed to force Honey away from Tootles. When Tootles was finished coughing and could finally breathe again, he said breathlessly, "We should hide the Kyouya-bird and surprise Peter when he gets here!"

"Good idea!" The lost boys chimed, and they all ran to Kyouya's body and surrounded it, trying their best to hide him.

"Don't let that freaky kid ruin the surprise," Tootles told Slightly, who immediately covered Honey's mouth with his massive hand.

Slowly and triumphantly, Pan descended from above the treetops. His glowing smile made the boys wiggly with excitement. Their surprise would make Peter so very pleased! At least that's what they were thinking.

"What are you boys smiling about? Are you pleased to see me? Even Katz came out, and the sun is bright today." Peter rambled when he touched down. He gasped and his grin widened, "You met him already, didn't you?! Oh, I just knew you'd be excited. Now tell me, where is he?" He briefly paused his flamboyant tirade to search for Kyouya behind rocks and trees.

The Lost boys' giddiness diminished a little. "Met who, boss?" Pockets asked.

"Kyouya, of course!" Pan practically sang. "Now come on. Where are you hiding him? Kyouya! Come out, mon ami!"

The four boys' hearts sank as they looked to each other, silently begging someone to say something. Slightly was the first to oblige. "Uh, boss…are you saying you…brought someone to us?" he nervously stuttered.

"Yes!" he said to Slightly. His attention was immediately drawn to the little squirming Mitsukuni in the large boy's arms. "And I see the little one is already here. Ah…his name…." he snapped at the air, trying to remember. "Honey! Yes! I see Honey is here, so Kyouya must be close by. Well, I wanted to save the news for when he got here, but since you've already met him, I'll just tell you!" Peter giggled and continued. "I've brought Kyouya to you…to be your new mother!" Dramatically, he flung his arms out and waved them like he was trying to do jazz hands. When the Lost boys just stood there, sweating and gulping nothing down their dry throats, Peter's smile faded.

"Why are you not excited?" He whined, putting on his puppy-dog face.

"H-hooray!" The Lost Boys croaked stiffly.

"What is wrong with you?" Peter asked.

To the boys' surprise, Tootles stepped forward. "I'm sorry Peter!" he reported, standing stick straight like a soldier.

The others looked at him through worried eyes, shouting "Tootles, are you crazy? Don't do it!"

"No!" he shouted with his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Boys, step aside."

"But Tootles…"

"I did it. He deserves to know. Show him."

Hesitantly, the four boys stepped aside, trying not to look at Peter's horrified expression. Slightly let go of Honey, who rushed to his brother's side.

Peter's stomach wrenched and he covered his mouth. In no time at all, tears blurred his vision. He ran over to Kyouya's body and sat next to Honey. His shaking hand slowly grasped Kyouya's. Had he not been distraught, he would have noticed that Kyouya's hand was still warm. Peter's eyebrows furrowed, and his pained expression became furious.

"Tootles, this is your arrow," he growled.

The boys looked toward Tootles, who stood tall and said. "Yes, Peter. I did it."

"But it wasn't his fault!" Pockets began.

"We thought he was a Kyouya-bird!" said Slightly.

"Tink told us he was dangerous!" finished Katz.

"He did, did he?!" Pan jumped to his feet and flew to the twin fairies' hole. "Tink! What have you to say for yourself? Come out, Tink!"

One fairy slowly peeked his head out from the hole, glowing faintly green with nervousness. "Yes, Peter?"

"Don't act stupid, Tink! You know what you did!"

"No!" the other fairy's voice chimed. He quickly appeared beside his brother. "He didn't do anything. It was me! I'm Tink."

"I don't care who it was! What were you thinking?!"

"We just…"one began.

"Don't like him…" the other finished.

"That is absolutely no excuse, you shady twins! I've warned you once, but now you have crossed the line! I want you out of Neverland, Tink! Now!"

"Okay," they smirked. "But you have to guess. Which of us is Tinkeru and which of us is Kao-bell?"

"I am not playing your stupid game. Just get out!" Pan screamed, turning his back to the fairies.

"Well if you banish one of us…"

"You'll have to banish both of us."

"Fine by me," Pan snarled, not looking back. Just before heading back toward the ground he added, "You've betrayed me for the last time."

The tiny, glowing twins were high above the treetops before Peter looked back. "Did you actually think I was gonna let you cover for me, Bells?" Tink said, grabbing his brother's hand. "I wouldn't let him banish you for something I did. I wouldn't let him banish you, _period._ Not without me."

Kao-bell smiled and his glow turned faintly to the pinker side of the spectrum. "That really was stupid of you."

"I know. I actually do feel bad. I didn't think the boys would actually _shoot_ him. I just expected them to, I don't know, beat him up or something."

Kao-bell sighed. "You know how they are."

On the ground, Peter was screaming at Tootles, clutching his dagger.

"I understand, Peter," Tootles cried. "Strike me! Strike true! I deserve your punishment, boss!" Peter clutched the dagger in his shaking hand. He couldn't kill one of his own, no matter how horribly he had behaved. Just before he was about to drop the dagger, a noise made his ears perk up. The other boys heard it too, apparently, because all five of their heads darted in Kyouya's direction.

"Peter," the faint whisper came from Kyouya's trembling lips. The boy's eyelids fluttered from behind his broken glasses, and colour filled his cheeks.

Peter's and Honey's hearts jumped out of their chests, and the Lost Boys breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. "He lives!" Peter screamed, and he and Honey darted to his side. Honey's little arms were wrapped around Kyouya's waist and Peter's were around his neck as he cuddled him like a kitten again. He switched into French again, like he always did when he was excited. "You're alive! _Tu vives! Ah, je suis tres contente, mon ami! Tu vives! J'ai pensais que tu __étais mort__!" _His happy tears fell onto Kyouya's unconscious face. He ran his fingers slowly down the arrow that protruded from Kyouya's chest until he reached the base. "Why hadn't I noticed there was no blood?" he asked himself. He breathed deeply and winced as he carefully pulled the arrow from Kyouya's chest.

"Don't!" Honey cried, "You're supposed to keep the object of a puncture wound in the wound until you get to a doctor. I know, I've been stabbed a few times in training."

"But look," Peter said. "He's not bleeding." Peter ran his fingers down Kyouya's chest and then gasped, quickly drawing his hand back.

When Honey looked at Peter's hand, he shrieked. "Blood! Kyouya _is _bleeding!"

"No," Peter said, wiping the blood on his leg and then sucking his fingers. "This is my blood. Something cut me." He ripped open Kyouya's shirt (which wasn't hard, since there was already a gash in it) and smiled. Smiling back at him from Kyouya's chest, were fragments of his own face. Normally he would have been crushed to see his beloved mirror shattered, but not today. Today his beloved mirror was a life-saver.

Suddenly he snapped back to reality and spun around to face the Lost Boys. "Boys, meet your new mother! He's here to take care of us, and tell us stories!"

"We have a mother!" the lost boys cheered.

"We should do something for him," Tootles said, trying to make up for the fact that he shot his mother.

"Good idea, Tootles!" Pan smiled. Clearly the relief that Kyouya was alive made him forget all about who _might_ have killed him in the first place. "I have an idea. We'll need lots of wood…"

"Wood!" the boys repeated, scrambling to look for bits of wood.

"We'll need lots of leaves…"

"Leaves!" they repeated again, saluting their captain and turning to pluck leaves from the trees.

"We'll need lots of twigs…"

"Twigs! Twigs!" they shouted, getting louder with each word.

"But…HUSH!" Peter yelled, putting his finger to his mouth.

"Hush!" they yelled, and then turned to Kyouya's sleeping body, immediately understanding.

"Ahhh…hush…"


	11. Brand New

**Hey everyone! Again I apologize for the lack of updates lately, but I just started school, so naturally I haven't really had time to get much writing done.**

**Thank you, Gingerbread Kisses, for favouriting! Your gift something not something Peter Pan related, but it is a passionate kiss from the Host Club member of your choice. Enjoy. ; }**

**X. Brand New**

At first he thought it was all a dream. There was no pain; there was no light at the end of a tunnel. But the fear was far too real. Then again, when one had a nightmare, the fear was often so intense it could give one a heart attack, or at least some sort of seizure. But Kyouya had never really been one to have silly nightmares.

Then the chilling thought flickered through Kyouya's unconscious mind. He hadn't remembered falling asleep since Pan had come to see him, so what if this whole amazing adventure, the entire beautiful twist his mediocre life had decided to take, and _Peter_ were all fleeting figments of his dozing brain? But the wonder, the magic, the sheer _thrill _was all too real. Then again, when one had a dream, the magic was often so beautiful that, once awake, one would grow very depressed from the feeling that his subconscious lied to him, dangling ephemeral hope and wonder before his face only to snatch it away when the accursed alarm clock chimed. But Kyouya had never been one to have silly dreams.

How, then could it be that he felt no pain?

The images and words of Kyouya's intricate thought process blurred out of focus, and soon he could hear very faint sounds. They reminded him briefly of a schoolyard with lots of playing children, laughing and arguing. But it was as if he was merely an onlooker. It was a sound he had grown accustomed to in his years of elementary school. Kyouya Ootori had always been merely an onlooker. It wasn't until recently that he had learned what it was like to truly _enjoy_ himself. He had Pan to thank for that.

Slowly the sounds grew louder and the darkness dimmed. Soon the world around him faded into view. He was hesitant to truly focus on what he was seeing for fear he may only see the dull ceiling of his nursery, and his adventure would be over. It wasn't until Peter's gentle voice whispered his name that he gained the courage to look around. Above him the world was green with white streams of light peeking in between cracks in the leafy ceiling. The walls surrounding him were made of tree bark and twigs and various other things, and beside him Peter's flawless face grinned a shining grin.

"Kyouya?" he whispered again. "Oh, thank goodness!" Peter shouted. Outside Kyouya could hear hushed whispers and sighs of relief. Peter reached to hug him but stopped. He didn't want to hurt his possibly injured new friend, after all.

"What…what happened?" Kyouya's thin voice strained. He knew he had been shot; that much was true. Maybe in this world there was no pain? But Neverland was already too good to be true. Still, he ran his hand down his chest to feel for blood.

"No, don't touch—" Peter tried to warn him, but Kyouya had already winced and jerked his now bleeding hand away from the broken glass on his chest. "I'm sorry!" Peter cried dramatically. "I should have removed the glass, but I wanted you to see why you're still alive in case I wasn't here when you woke up. That was stupid. I'm sorry."

Without warning, Peter grabbed Kyouya's hand and put the bleeding fingers in his mouth. Kyouya gasped, and all the blood seemed to rush to his face. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment. He had never really known what it was like having someone care so much for him. Peter didn't really think much of it. It was almost habitual; he was used to treating the Lost Boy's wounds since he was the oldest and their leader. Still, the strange intimate contact with another human being that was so foreign to Kyouya made his heartbeat speed up. It was only natural that it should make him nervous. No one had done this for him before. It was natural that he was nervous. It was natural that he kind of appreciated the special treatment. It _was_ natural. Right?

"You uh…didn't have to do that. I appreciate the consideration, but I could have handled it on my own," Kyouya said in a strangely unconfident tone for him as Peter wrapped soft leaves around his wounded fingers.

"You're right. I should have made Tootles do it," he huffed, "but I wouldn't trust him to take care of you. If he had hurt you again, I would have fed him to a crocodile." Kyouya shuddered. For some reason, violence did not suit Peter. His eyes were too kind and innocent. Though, it seemed like he could become very violent when someone he cared about was in danger.

"It was my mirror that saved you," Peter smiled. "I knew there was a reason I gave it to you. But glass probably wasn't the best shield. I should probably make sure you aren't hurt." Casually, Peter began unbuttoning Kyouya's shirt.

Kyouya's stomach lurched again. "I can do that myself," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. _Why am I so nervous? _he thought._ He's just treating my wounds. He's not going to kill me or anything. It's natural that I should be nervous, I guess. I mean, another man is unbuttoning my shirt, which is something I've always thought of as an intimate thing. It's natural that I should feel uncomfortable. Right? Why does Pan make me question myself so much! He really is starting to get on my last nerve!_

"Don't be silly," Peter smiled, breaking Kyouya from his inner battle and unbuttoning the last button. "You need some rest. You had quite a shock back there. Ooh…ouch." He finally looked down at Kyouya's chest and winced, breathing in a hissing breath.

"What is it?" Kyouya leaned his head up to get a look at what Pan was seeing. He was interrupted by Peter's hand on his forehead, pushing his head back to the ground.

"Just relax and think of something else. I'll take care of it." Then he smiled and said, "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Kyouya."

_What is this guy's deal._ Kyouya thought. _He is perhaps the most confusing fellow I have ever met. _Kyouya's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp, stinging pain in his lower chest followed by the clink of glass on the dirt floor.

"You're doing fine. It's just a bit of glass that cut your skin a little. Nothing too deep. There aren't too many pieces, so this shouldn't take too long."

"You would have made an excellent doctor," Kyouya said for lack of anything else to say.

Suddenly Peter stopped at looked stunned. He looked at Kyouya like he had just killed his puppy, but then quickly transformed his pained expression into an awkward smile. "No, I wouldn't have. Please don't say that."

"I would have just taken it as a compliment," Kyouya said, trying to hide his annoyance.

"A compliment?" Peter's smile disappeared and he started yelling like a maniac. "It's not a compliment to be told what to be and how to act! I will never become a man, so you can just forget it! Maybe you want to grow up and be a doctor or lawyer or something else with no time for fun or games, but I'm having no part of it!" Just as suddenly as he had started screaming, he smiled again and pulled another sliver of glass out of Kyouya's skin, squeezing Kyouya's hand with his unoccupied one to help him through the pain. "Only a few more to go. Hang in there."

_He surely is a unique character._

"So why do you call them the Lost Boys?" Kyouya said, fishing for a subject change.

"They were lost," Peter began. "I found them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, they either fell out of their carriages when they were babies or they ran away from home. Tootles was one of the ones who fell out of his carriage. He was never too bright," Peter smiled. "Pockets ended up in Neverland many moons ago. He was one of the first Lost Boys. I didn't know it at the time, but he was living in the forest near Fairy Colony for quite some time before I found him. Apparently he had fallen in love with one of fairies. He had been watching her for a long time before I found him, but he was too afraid to do anything about it." There was another wince of pain followed by a clink of glass. "Hang in there. You'll be fine. Anyway, when I found him, he was a complete wreck, inside and out. Every day I would visit him and try to get him to come live with me in the tree house, but he never wanted to come. But then one day I noticed him staring at Kanako, the lovely fairy princess. So I kept an eye on them both after that, noticing little glances that they always missed. But it was obvious that Kanako had noticed him, too. Finally, I tricked her into revealing her true feelings for him, and they have been inseparable ever since."

Something about the story seemed familiar to Kyouya. Another wince. Another clink.

"Katz was the next Lost Boy to show up," Peter continued. "I don't know why he ran away from home, but I don't really talk to him much. He was really weird. Well, he still is, but a little less than before. To tell the truth, when I first met him, I was a little scared of him. He was hiding in a cave when I found him. He hissed at me or something when he first saw me. Then he started talking about how he would curse me if I stepped foot in his 'domain,' whatever that means. He was afraid of the light, Kyouya. Afraid of light! He was dressed all in black with a hooded cape. I made him get rid of it, but he made one out of leaves anyway." Kyouya was growing used to the pain, but every time Peter pulled out a shard of glass, he would squeeze Kyouya's hand anyway, just to assure that he was okay. "It's almost over. You're doing great. But as I was saying, I kept trying to convince him that the light wasn't going to kill him, and eventually he overcame his fear and stepped outside. He did it to save a little fairy that was about to get attacked by a cat. It was short lived, and he still rarely comes out of his cave, but at least he comes out."

Something about this story rang a bell in Kyouya's mind, too, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Then there was Slightly. He ran away from home when he was very, very young. It was before he could talk, I guess. But even back then, everyone was afraid of him. You may have noticed he is kind of scary looking. He really is a good kid, though he has quite a temper. When he first came to Neverland, one of the pirates found him before I could. He noticed Slightly's scary face and though he would make a great pirate one day. When he _grew up_. He grew up a lot on the Jolly Roger. The pirate ships are the only place where anyone gets any older. I first noticed him during a battle between the pirates and the Lost Boys. The look he shot me gave me the creeps, but I couldn't let a kid in Neverland stay on a pirate ship. Nobody grows up here! Not on my watch! Naturally, the rest of the Lost Boys were afraid to attack him, because of his scary face and because he was the son of a pirate. None of the other pirates bothered them, but Slightly had a face that could freeze fire. The pirates liked to call him the 'Walking Blizzard.' So anyway, I had to rescue him from the pirates, no matter how much he scared me. When I finally saved him I found out how misunderstood he really was. He never wanted to be a pirate; he was just born with face that makes him look mean all the time, so he didn't think he had much choice. People seemed to forget he was young and he just wanted to play. So the boys and I taught him how to control his temper (though he still has a hard time with that) and now he's a Lost Boy. Lucky for us, with him around, no one will think to bother us." Peter stood up and wiped the blood from his hands on his clothes. "Okay, you're all finished," he said. Kyouya hadn't even noticed that Peter had wrapped his chest in long, medicinal leaves. Peter smiled and added "I think the Lost Boys have something to say to you." He hurried over to Kyouya and grabbed his hand and then dragged him to the doorway of his new, makeshift house. They opened the door to reveal Katz, Slightly, Tootles, Pockets, five or six Lost Boys Kyouya hadn't met before, and to Kyouya's surprise, Mitsukuni. They were all holding flowers and smiling widely, like they had been waiting for him to come out for quite a while. Slightly whispered and audible, "One, two, three," and the boys all said in unison, "Mr. Kyouya boy, please be our mother!" Kyouya hesitantly accepting their bouquets and said, "Well, I…I'm not really…" He looked over at Peter who was wearing the most pathetic yet adorable puppy dog face he had ever seen. He wanted to say no, but somehow he felt like he couldn't argue with that face. Mitsukuni tried that on him all the time, and so did his sister and lots of other people he knew, and it never worked. But for some reason, no matter how hard he wanted to, he just couldn't say no to that face!

He sighed and said, "Alright."

The small crowd roared with pre-pubescent cheers and a swarm of boys tackled Kyouya to the ground, hugging him and laughing and saying "Momma Kyouya! Momma Kyouya!"

"Who's gonna be our father?" Honey said.

"What's a father?" asked the Lost Boys.

"Someone who decides your future for you and makes you feel inadequate in everything you do, constantly telling you that you are not good enough and reminding you that you will never amount to anything." Kyouya said matter-of-factly.

"Why would we want one of those?" one of the boys cried.

"No one's gonna tell me what I should be!" said another one.

Soon, the whole crowd was shouting. "Wait!" Honey shouted, waving his arms in the air to get everyone's attention. "That's not what all father's do. On TV, most fathers love and protect their children. They give them words of advice when times get tough and keep their children safe from harm."

"Peter always makes sure we're safe," said Slightly.

"And he's given all of us advice," said Tootles.

"Peter should be our father!" another Lost Boy said. It was unanimous. The whole crowd was soon chanting "Peter! Peter! Peter!"

"Okay, okay," Peter said, standing on a rock with his head held high. "But only if you admit that I am the strongest, bravest, and handsomest of all the Lost Boys."

"Peter is the strongest, bravest, and handsomest of all the Lost Boys," the crowd repeated.

"Good," Peter flew to Kyouya and grabbed his hand. "Now I must go show Mother Kyouya around the island."

"Can we come, Peter?" The crowd shouted.

"Of course not! You've already seen the island."

"What about me?" Honey chirped.

"No, Honey. You stay here. This is only for Mother and Father," and before he could look back to see Honey's puppy dog pout, he flew away with Kyouya in tow.

"Wasn't that a little harsh?" Kyouya asked as they sailed through the air.

"He'll see the island eventually. I wanted it to just be me and you. Mother and Father."

Peter's hand around his suddenly felt warm and his heart lurched.

_Never has one person confused me so much._

**I didn't get the chance to read over this, so tell me what sucks and I'll edit it. I really did like the way this chapter turned out, though. =]**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**~RhythmStickLunatic**


	12. Mermaids and Indians

**Sorry it's been so long! I haven't really been able to update much since school started. Hope you enjoy!**

**Thank you nicoxpercyluva for reviewing! You don't get a present, though, because you didn't favourite. =P**

**Mermaids and Indians**

"Honestly, Kyouya," Peter said with a raised eyebrow. He flew backwards to face Kyouya who was following close behind. "You mean to tell me that after all you've seen today, you can believe there's no such thing as mermaids?"

"I have never seen one," Kyouya replied evenly, "so they're not real."

"Have you ever seen a boy fly?" Peter grinned and did a fancy flip through the air, attempting to be facetious. "Have you ever seen the world from a bird's eye? You didn't believe such things existed before today, did you? But now look at us. You _are_ the flying boy, now, Kyouya." Kyouya had to give Peter credit for his quite excellent point. There was no denying that the vast, blue, untainted sea that cascaded below him was as real as it was beautiful.

"Do you not believe in air?" Peter continued when Kyouya didn't respond. "Do you not believe in youth? Do the stars cease to exist when the sun comes up and the sun when night falls? There are many things we can't see, but we still know they're real."

All Kyouya could do was stare at Peter in awe. At times, the supposed dimwitted boy was a genius. Peter slowed down so he was flying right beside Kyouya and said smoothly, "Take love for instance. Love is one of the most powerful things in the world, and yet it cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Tell me, Kyouya," Peter's voice lowered to a whisper and his lips nearly brushed Kyouya's right ear, "do you not believe in love?"

To Kyouya's surprise, the question made him lose his inner composure. His chest tightened and he suddenly grew very nervous. He immediately came to the conclusion that the nervousness was a direct result of the realization that, before this point, he had never really thought about the possibility that he would ever or _could_ ever find love. But how does one truly define love? It is often described as the most magical sensation in the world; it had the power to make even the saddest of men feel alive. Kyouya was quite positive that he had never been in love, but at that moment, soaring above the island of his fantasies, he was the happiest he had ever felt. He could not possibly have been in love, but the feeling in his chest felt just like the love they describe in story books. So, Kyouya finally came to the conclusion that if something that wasn't love could feel so much like love, then love must only be a state of mind, and therefore merely a concept. _Love is merely a word_, he thought. _There is nothing real about it _

"No," he was finally able to say with complete equanimity. "I do not believe in love."

Peter's smile completely vanished and he drifted slowly away from Kyouya, wearing an expression that looked like he had just seen a ghost. Peter shook off the shock and smiled again. "I don't believe you," he sang with a smirk. "I used to say the same thing, and I didn't even believe myself. Love is not just black and white, mon ami."

Leaving those words hanging in the air between them, Peter increased his speed to resume his position ahead of Kyouya. The Ootori boy furrowed his eyebrows and pondered Peter's words for a moment, but decided to push the thought to the back of his mind for another time.

Kyouya fished for a subject change. When the perfect thought struck him, he flew up behind Peter and asked, "Why do you know French?" Peter stopped dead in the air and didn't turn back to face Kyouya, but he could tell Peter was hesitant to continue the conversation. Finally, he slowly started to float forward again. Still with his back to Kyouya, he asked, "what?" His voice was monotone and seemed strangely distant.

"I asked you why you know French," Kyouya replied. Peter turned his body toward Kyouya, but his eyes were pointed up and out into the distance. He wrinkled his forehad like he was deep in thought. "Well," he said, "I really don't know." Without elaborating, he simply turned around and started floating toward their destination again. It was strange. For the first time, Peter didn't sound genuine. There was something fishy about his tone.

Before Kyouya could contemplate matters any further, Peter chirped, "We're here, Kyouya!" The boys touched down on one of the many boulders that bordered a sapphire blue lagoon. The water was pure and rippling at the base of a small waterfall, and the lagoon was surrounded with vibrant flowers. The scene was lovely, and completely devoid of mermaids.

Kyouya smirked with the satisfaction of being right. "That's funny. You said there would be mermaids, correct. But it seems there aren't. . ."

A hypnotizingly beautiful sound interrupted him. The immaculate tones that reverberated off the rocks made Kyouya's eyes water and his eyelids heavy. Out of the glistening blue below him arost the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The water on her delicate skin played against the sunlight like diamonds. Deep, violet eyes burrowed into Kyouya's sold as she sang, and long locks of honeysuckle hair cascaded to her belly button. Her innocent, round face, her hair, her eyes…why were they so familiar to Kyouya?

Kyouya's trance was interrupted by Peter's stern yells echoing off the stone. "Get back!" Peter yelled. "You can't have him!" Peter sounded as if he were casually scolding a dog for sitting on the furniture. "Back!" He swatted the beautiful creature with his foot, and when she caught sight of Peter's face, her own immaculate features vanished, leaving only a blank, expressionless mask surrounded by dull, grey hair. The faceless beings beautiful choruses halted and were replaced by a terrible shriek. Just before the creature dove back into the glorious blue depths, Kyouya could see an iridescent green tail where her legs should have been. Kyouya was still mildly enraptured with the memory of the amazing mermaid. He had never really gone stupid over a girl before, so why did he have such a strong desire to dive into the water after her?

"Kyouya!" Peter said, waving his hand in front of Kyouya's face. "Hmm…I guess it _does_ work for you." Peter stepped in front of Kyouya and shook him by the shoulders. "Kyooooooouyaaaaa!"

Kyouya's eyes widened at the sight of Peter's violet eyes and golden hair. He suddenly realized why the mermaid looked so familiar. "Did you see that?" Kyouya said, sounding far less composed than he had in a long time.

"Well, I doubt whatever I saw was the same as what you did," Peter replied. "It doesn't work on me." He fluttered his eyelashes in his extremely feminine way and said, "Probably because my beauty distracts them. Funny. I didn't think their charms would work on you either."

If Kyouya was listening, he might have recognized the compliment. "It looked just like you," Kyouya said, finally recovering, but swaying with dizziness.

Peter's eyes widened for a split second, and then his lips curled into a devious smirk. "Oh really?" he said, leaning his elbow on Kyouya's shoulder and glancing at him from the side. "That's strange, isn't it? Because the mermaids' power is said to appear extremely beautiful in the eyes of whoever sees them. So, you've fallen for me already, have you? I can't say that I blame you.

Kyouya fully regained his calm demeanour and pushed Peter off his shoulder. "Shut up," he almost laughed.

"Ha! You didn't say no!" Peter smiled.

"I don't believe in love," Kyouya repeated.

Peter's smile faded, and the air around them was filled with a loud, excruciating silence. After a long moment, Peter shook his head and sighend. Then, as if nothing happened, he grabbed Kyouya's hand and took off again at full speed, dragging the internally confused Kyouya behind him.

. . .

The sudden burst of cold awoke Kyouya from his thoughts. His hand was warm in Peter's, but he noticed Peter's arm was pinpricked with goose bumps. Below him, the ground glowed pure white, but it was hard to see ahead of him through the zillions of snowflakes that danced around them.

. . .Snowflakes?

"It's snowing," he pointed out casually. "That's odd."

Peter gasped and smiled back to Kyouya, his face lit up like a Christmas light. "Hey! It's about time you spoke up! I was beginning to think you were dead or hypnotized or something. I expected you to ask what in the world I was doing a little while ago when I flew through the forest, but you just hung there like a dead fish."

"We flew through the forest?" Kyouya was really beginning to wish he'd been paying more attention. He was missing once in a lifetime sights!

"You really are strange," Peter said, but before Kyouya could retort, Peter whispered, "We're getting closer. See the smoke?" Kyouya's eyes followed Peter's pointing finger, and sure enough, a column of billowing grey smoke rose from the ground not 100 metres from them. "Once we are out of winter, we'll touch down so they don't see us coming."

"Who?"

"Indians."

It was as if the strength of the word alone summoned the intense heat that replaced the severe cold. Thought he had just entered summer, Kyouya shivered from the strange feeling of his goose bumps being forced away. As if they were travelling by parachute, the boys drifted to the ground near the base of the smoke column. AS they drew nearer, they could hear shouts and drums. They landed down behind a cluster of bushes and crouched, spying on the Indians. The many dark-skinned people frantically scurried about their land, seemingly searching for something.

The smallest of the men, smallest enough to be considered one of the boys, stood on a rock and blew loudly on a ram's horn. Immediately the crowd went completely silent and every eye in the tribe was focused on him.

"This chaos will not solve anything," the boy spoke with obvious authority. "You all know as well as I what we must do!"

"That's Tora-Yuri," Pan whispered, indicating the boy on the rock. "He's the son of the high-chief. His mother died many moons ago. Since then, his father, the chief, has been a little…"

As if on cue, the boy's father appeared from beneath the tallest and most decorated lean-to. He appeared normal at first; he had long hair like the rest of the men, but something was amiss. Only when he began to speak did Kyouya notice exactly how unusual he was.

"Yes, Tora-Yuri!" The chief said in a strangely feminine voice. "We will not stand for this any longer!" Upon closer inspection of the tribe, Kyouya realized what was so different about the chief. Most of the men of the tribe were wearing nothing but some sort of covering on their lower half, but the chief wore a decorative, halter-style, organic top that stopped and frayed just before the belly button like most of the tribe's women wore. His son, strangely, wore something very similar. _Maybe it's an authority thing,_ Kyouya thought.

"The chief may not look very strong," Peter whispered, "but he is fierce. Trust me." Peter's voice darkened with those last two words and he shuddered. Kyouya just decided to take his word for it.

Tora-Yuri triumphantly began to speak again. "When Peter Pan is away, the Lost Boys steal from us, and now they must pay!" The uproar of cheers coming from the crowd of Indians drowned out Peter's annoyed sigh.

"Ugh," he groaned. "How many times have I told them not to mess with the Indians when I'm not here? They're our only back-up against the pirates!" Peter didn't appear to really be talking to anyone in particular. He was just ranting. "If this keeps up, we'll lose our allys!" he grumbled.

The cheers came to an abrupt halt when the chief glared at the tribe with fiery eyes. "Shhh!" he hissed. "Listen to Tora-Yuri when on war path!" The crowd cowered before their fierce leader and "shushed" each other in fear.

"We have promised to keep our treaty as long as both parties adhere to the rules," Tora-Yuri cried, sounding a lot like a lawyer. "We have given them three chances, all of which they took advantage of. But no more! The war between the Lost Boys and the Indians begins now!"

"You stay here," Peter began. "I'll go negotiate with him." But just as Peter prepared to take off, a strange, dark figure appeared just behind Tora-Yuri. In the shadows, only for an instant, a single, silver hook glared in the light. The gleam was so quick that anyone who wasn't looking for it would have missed it, but Peter knew exactly what he was looking for. Before he could burst from behind the trees with a valiant crow to come to the boy's rescue, Tora-Yuri disappeared into the trees, leaving only the echo of a petrified scream behind him.

**This chapter felt so much longer than it is when I was writing it. Sorry it's kinda short. **

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**~RhythmStickLunatic**


	13. Marooner's Rock

**Marooner's Rock**

The crowd of Indians was now engulfed in loud chaos. Peter reared back like an angry horse, and sprung from the ground like a striking snake. Before he was even five feet off the ground, he was stopped by Kyouya's hand clasped around his ankle.

"Don't make yourself known," he said, stone-faced.

Peter would not come down so easily. "Why not?" he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "I have to save him! The Indians and I may not be on the best of terms, but we have one common enemy: the pirates. And I'll be damned if I let them—"

Kyouya used all his strength to yank Peter to the ground. Peter came down in a _thud_, and somehow managed to end up on the ground, on top of Kyouya, stomach to stomach. Colour rushed to Kyouya's face, no doubt from the embarrassment of the situation, but his voice remained calm.

"If you go out there now they will attack you. It is hard to tell whether or not it was intentional, but the pirates set you up. The Indians were just talking about how the Lost Boys steal from them, and right at that very moment, the chief's son gets kidnapped through the trees by an unseen perpetrator. Now, what would any logical person think of that?"

Peter's eyes finally refocused from the fall. He shook his head and smiled, trying to play it smooth. "It's a good thing you're my best friend or this would be really awkward."

Kyouya's heart clenched at the sound of the words "best friend" but he tried to shake it off enough to concentrate on pushing Peter off of him. He had never been anyone's best friend before. In fact, he wasn't even sure he'd really been anyone's _friend _before. But now was the time for more important matters. He kept his usual, calm disposition as he stood up, brushed himself off, and shook away his delight. His focus was drawn back to Peter, who was on the ground, looking up at Kyouya with pitiful eyes. Defeated by the irresistible puppy-dog pout, Kyouya sighed and held out his hand to help him up. The smile that suddenly illuminated Peter's face made Kyouya have to concentrate on keeping all his blood and body head from rushing to his face.

This whole mixed-emotions thing will have to stop, Kyouya thought to himself. When Peter smiled, he could feel the warmth from it in his heart, and yet at the same time, he hated him for being able to win him over so easily. No other person had ever been able to convince him to cater to his every whim. Then again, no other person has ever made him want to.

Kyouya brushed his thoughts aside. "Look," he said, becoming a logical thinker once again, "where might the pirates have taken Tora-Yuri?"

Peter scrunched his eyebrows for a second, and then jumped with a sudden realization. His features snapped into stone-cold seriousness, which was strange for him. Without warning or explanation, he grabbed Kyouya's hand and said urgently, "Let's go."

Most of the flight was in silence. Peter's stone-faced expression remained fixed for a majority of the time, and all Kyouya could do was admire his determination.

_He really is a strange fellow_, Kyouya thought. _One minute he's giggling and stupid, and…lying on top of me…and the next his is a soldier at the front lines. It's so confusing. Just how deep is this guy?_

After a while, Peter's features began to soften, until his expression became blank. It almost looked as if he had forgotten what he was doing.

…_Or maybe he's just an idiot who can't concentrate on more than one thing at a time._

Kyouya didn't realize he had been staring at him until Peter turned his head and smiled at him, knowingly. After moments of silence, Kyouya finally asked, "What?"

"You care," Peter said, his eyelids lowered accusatorily.

"What?"

"You care," Peter repeated. "You didn't _have_ to help me save Tora-Yuri, and there certainly is nothing for you to gain from it. You are coming with me out of the kindness of your heart. You're not as cold as you try to appear, Kyouya." Peter still smiled, but Kyouya's face remained placid. "Well," Peter continued, "am I wrong?"

"Yes, actually, you are," Kyouya replied, cooly.

Peter's eyes widened in shock, and then he shouted, "How can I possibly be wrong?! I have you all figured out! Just admit it!"

"I will admit that you're wrong," Kyouya replied, still just as cool. "I _do_ have something to gain."

"You try to act so cool, but I've backed you into a corner," Peter grinned. "What could you possibly have to—"

"Pan, you should try thinking for once," Kyouya interrupted with a slight smirk. "The Indians are your allys. Having them turn against you creates a new enemy and leaves us twice as open to pirate attacks."

"Oh, I see," Peter said. "You don't care about Tora-Yuri. You care about the Lost Boys."

"Of course not," Kyouya replied. "Why should I? They've done nothing for me. In fact, if I recall correctly, one of them _shot_ me."

"Okay, fine," Peter sighed dramatically, pretending he had given up. "You win. After all, if you were _only_ looking out for yourself, you wouldn't just _leave_ me and the Lost Boys and go back to Japan, would you? No, that would make too much sense, wouldn't it?" Peter smirked an uncharacteristically sly smirk.

Kyouya was taken aback. He hadn't really thought of it, but Peter was right. That would have been the most logical thing to do…

_This guy sure knows how to play his cards,_ Kyouya thought_. Damn him! How can he be so perceptive?!_

"Oh yeah, you care about something all right," Peter said, doing little flips in the air. "You care. I know it."

Kyouya fisted his hand around Peter's blonde hair as he forced Peter's head around to face the direction he was supposed to be flying. "Just fly. We're wasting time."

Peter flipped and ended up with his face just inches away from Kyouya's. "You care!"

Peter's smile didn't fade even when Kyouya dug his palm into Peter's face and repeated, "Just. Fly."

"You care! You care!"

"Using circular arguments will never get you anywhere."

"You care! You care!"

. . .

Far below the bickering boys, Tora-Yuri bobbed, bound and gagged, in a boat on a black river inside a dank, dark cave. Smee's fat fingers shook with terror. He wasn't too fond of this old place, and no matter how many times he was forced to go there, he still felt like he could hear the screams of the hundreds of pirates and captives said to have been left on the rock for dead. The lantern in his hand should have been reassuring, but the shaking of his hands caused shadows to dance spookily on the walls.

"For God's sake, Smee," the captain's voice echoed off the dripping, algae-covered, rock walls that surrounded them. "Pull yourself together."

"Aye, Cap'n," Smee quivered, after nearly jumping out of his skin at the sound of Hook's voice. "I'm sorry, Sir, but this place always gives me the willies, ya know?"

"Smee, don't apologize," Hook said, patronizingly. "You'll never get anywhere in life if you apologize for every little thing. You've got to assert yourself. Take charge."

"But Sir, ain't that a bit counter-introductory?"

"I think you mean 'counterintuitive,' Smee."

"Aye. Counter-initiative – to be tellin' me to be assertive an' still expectin' me to follow yer orders? Then again, ain't orderin' me to be assertive kind of a -- well a sort of contradiction in itself?" Smee flinched for fear of being hooked in the head again, but the captain just sighed and replied, "Smee, you're either a genius or an idiot."

Tora-Yuri's muffled screams brought the bickering pirates back to the task at hand. "You've got lungs for such a tiny little boy," Hook sneered, running the point of his gook gently down Tora-Yuri's face. The little Indian yanked his head away in disgust, and he would have spat at filthy rat if his mouth wasn't full of old rags.

"Do you know where we are, lad?" Hook grinned, getting far too much satisfaction out of this. "How about a hint?" With his good hand, he grabbed Tora-Yuri by the cheeks and yanked his head around to look behind him. Grinning back at the three was a huge, black skull, shimmering and dripping with grimy moisture and reeking of mildew and death. Scattered around the base of the rock were fragments of the bones and skulls of rats, bats, and things that were far too large to have been cave-dwellers. The putrid sight made Smee's stomach turn.

"That's Marooner's Rock, my dear boy. That's where we leave the naughty pirates and terrible captains to forget about them." Hook spoke with a condescending tone, as if he were teaching children the ABC's. "Best get yourself to the high point before the tide comes in. Smee, un-gag the boy."

Smee obeyed. Tora-Yuri kept his stern expression, though he wanted to scream at the slimy eels that were his captors.

"Now, there_ is _one way you can escape this…watery fate," Hook grinned, revealing his rotting teeth. "All you have to do is tell me where Peter Pan and his little friends hide. That's all you have to do, and you'll go free."

Just as Tora-Yuri began to speak, something shone from a crevice near the cave ceiling just a few yards behind Hook's head. If his obnoxiously flamboyant, red captain's hat was any bigger, Tora-Yuri wouldn't have seen the faint outline of Peter's face in the faint light of the lantern, or the two glowing ovals that seemed to be floating next to him. "I will not betray my allys. They have broken our treaty, but I would fight with Pan to the _death_ if it means fighting against _you_."

Before he could conjure up enough spit to send it flying in Hook's direction, a grimy hand squeezed his throat. "Listen, boy," Hook growled, "I don't know if you understand the weight of the situation. A storm is coming tonight, which means by morning you'll no doubt be floating face down on the surface of the water, beating up against the rocks with each passing wave. Now, tell me where he hides! Tora-Yuri's eyes flickered back to where Peter crouched in the rocks. The two gleaming ovals were gone. Peter must be planning something.

"No," he whispered defiantly.

"Smee, take the savage to his death."

Tora-Yuri's fists clenched, and he had to use every bit of his strength not to punch the captain in his greasy face. "It seems to me the real savage _here _is you, Hook!" Before he could say anything else, he felt an icy hook digging into the flesh of his neck, not hard enough to puncture it, but hard enough to hurt.

"Not another word from you, boy!"

"Cap'n, now, let's not be hasty," Smee quivered. "I'm sure he'll change 'is mind. Just give 'im a minute to clear 'is 'ead…"

"WHO GIVES THE ORDERS HERE, SMEE?!" The shout reverberated through the cave, making the walls quacke. Once the explosion of sound finally bounced out the cave's mouth, a new, more subtle sound filled the darkness. It took a moment for Hook to fully notice. Smee didn't bother to tie Tora-Yuri to the rock; he couldn't get anywhere with his arms and legs tied together anyhow. Just after Smee clumsily climbed back down to the boat, the captain let out an ear piercing shriek.

"SMEEEEE!" he cried, his arms and knees trembling, "the ticking! The ticking, it's ticking, Smee!" It wasn't until then that Smee paid enough attention to notice the _tick, tock, tick, tock,_ of that fateful clock inside the crock. "It's the crock! The crock clock! Clock crock, Smee!" the captain sputtered more unintelligible nonsense, holding onto his little first mate for dear life like a frantic child. "He's come for the rest of me! He wants me other hand, Smee!"

"But…but he ain't ever followed us in here before," Smee tried to console the captain, holding him like a sobbing baby. "It was only a matter of time, Smee! And now he's come for me!"

If it wasn't for the eminent peril, Tora-Yuri would have found the scene quite amusing. He couldn't help but smile, but more important issues soon jogged his memory. He peeled his eyes away from the sight before him to look back up to where Peter had been. The outline of Peter's face was gone, and the ticking seemed to be getting closer.

"It's behind us, Smee! It's gaining!"

"Don't turn around, Cap'n. If you stay still, he won't see us." For once, Hook didn't question his dimwitted subordinate. Tora-Yuri stared at the backs of the two frozen pirates and stifled laughter. The ticking was getting louder and louder behind him, and he had to admit that Pan was pretty good at fighting dirty. He knew what was coming, and as soon as he braced for it, he felt Pan's hand over his mouth. In his ear, Peter's voice whispered, "Don't scream. It's Peter." Tora-Yuri just rolled his eyes. Peter cautiously removed his hand from the boy's mouth and yanked him into a dark spot in the rocks. As he untied her arms, he hurriedly whispered, "Once you're untied, jump into the water. Hook will think it's the crock, so he shouldn't turn around. See that rock wall to the left?" he pointed. "Behind that corner is a rowboat. There should be a small, blue flag on the front. Depending on how fast we get you out of here, there might be a boy in the boat. He has black hair and glass eye-windows; that's Kyouya. He's our mother. If anyone else is on the boat, or if you see a boat without a flag, do _not_ get on it. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Tora-Yuri said. "Thank you. I now owe you."

"I hear whispers!" Hook shrieked, panicked."

"It's the spirits of the pirates who died here!" Smee nearly sobbed.

Peter smirked; Smee's panicking gave him an idea.

"Traitor!" Pan groaned in his best pirate impression, making sure his voice bounced off the walls just enough to create a spooky effect. "Why me, Captain? Whyyyy?!"

The pirates practically sobbed.

"I ain't done nothin' wrong, Captain!" Peter shouted a convincing death cry as he continued to untie Tora-Yuri's ropes.

"Their souls ain't been put to rest, Cap'n!" Smee cried. "They want revenge on the captains what done 'em wrong!"

"How could you do this to Captain James Hook?" Peter moaned, cupping his hands around his mouth to do a rather excellent impression of Hook. "I was the greatest captain alive! Why me?!"

Hook's flesh immediately began to crawl and he felt like he was going to be sick. "How…How is that possible?" Hook cried, almost in tears. "I'm not dead! Am I?"

"I've almost got it," Peter whispered to Tora-Yuri, "but part of the rope is tangled on your clothes. Take them off, quick."

"Are you crazy?!" Tora-Yuri hissed.

"They'll only slow you down! Just hurry!"

"I'm not taking off my clothes!"

Peter sighed, and shouted back into the cave, "I guess I've known all along that I am just a failure!"

"I am no failure!" Hook screamed, hot with anger. The ticking and the voices were driving him mad.

"Tora-Yuri, please. The ropes will catch on the rocks and hold you back if you try to swim with them. It's dark in here! Just take them off!"

"Not in front of you!"

A piercing shriek filled the air. "A ghost! A ghost looking for revenge!" Peter's eyes followed Smee's pointing finger and saw a figure floating toward the cave ceiling. All that was visible was the silhouette of a person, with large, ovular, gleaming eyes. Upon closer inspection, Peter realized they were glasses.

"Kyouya!" Peter whispered. They thought Kyouya was a ghost. He could use this to his advantage. "It is I, Captain Hook!" He growled. "The oldest, ugliest, biggest failure of a captain the Jolly Roger has ever known!"

"Liar!" the real Hook screamed. "It's impossible!"

"Maybe it's a sign of events yet to come." Smee suggested.

"I WILL NOT BE MAROONED!" Hook's face was as hot as fire.

Above them, Kyouya disappeared into the shadows. A few seconds later, he reappeared and touched down on the rocks beside Peter. "The boat is out there," he whispered, breathlessly. "I heard screaming, so I came to make sure—"

Kyouya was interrupted by another, slightly less hysterical yell. "If you are Hook…then who am I?"

"Tora-Yuri, just take it off! It's nothing I haven't seen before!"

"Nothing you haven't seen?" Tora-Yuri squeaked. "How many _girls _do you have living in your tree, Peter?"

"Girls?! What are you—"

"Who am I, Captain James Hook?!"

"You…" Peter grinned, "are a codfish!"

"A codfish?" Hook said. He had completely forgotten about the ticking, and was completely focused on the Hook impersonator. "Who are you really, Imposter?"

"Who am I?" Peter called. "Take a guess!"

Peter wasn't paying close enough attention to see the brief smirk that flashed across Hook's face. "Well I wonder…" he said.

"Kyouya," Pan hissed, "will you try to untangle the ropes since he _insists_ on being so _stubborn_?"

"Geez!" Tora-Yuri huffed. "I'll just cut them!" Then he pulled a knife out of a loop around his waist.

"You had a knife on you the entire time?!" Peter spazzed, as usual.

"You didn't think to ask?" Kyouya asked in a tone that said something along the lines of "what an idiot."

"Are you a vegetable?" Hook said to the invisible voice, playing along with Peter's games.

"No!" Peter called, and then whispered, "Swim to the boat, Tora-Yuri. Go now!"

"But the pirates!"

"I'm keeping them busy. Go!" Hesitantly, Tora-Yuri quietly lowered himself into the water and swam beneath the water toward the boat.

"Mineral?" Hook sneered.

"No!" Pan replied.

"Animal?"

"Yes!"

"Are you a man?"

"NO!"

Hook smiled knowingly at Smee. "Boy?" he grinned.

"Yes!"

"Peter, are you an idiot?" Kyouya hissed, but Peter ignored him.

"_Ordinary_ boy?"

"NO!"

"_Wonderful _boy?"

"YES!"

"Peter, don't!" Kyouya warned.

"Hide, Kyouya." Kyouya didn't move. "HIDE!" Peter hissed, pushing Kyouya back into the dark crevice.

"Have you given up, Hook?"

"Aye," the captain said, almost sarcastically. "I give up. Who might you be?"

Peter's smile stretched from ear to ear, and he laughed a triumphant laugh that filled the cave with boyish wonder. A golden glow emanated from Peter's skin, and pure joy alone was enough to pull him into the air. "I am youth!" he crowed. "I am joy! I am the sun, the moon, and the stars! I. Am. PETER PAN!"

**This. Is. Spartaaaa! Lol **

**That was so flipping long! I guess it makes up for the previous chapter being so short.**

**Sadly, the next one is even longer. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, though. But I enjoyed the next chapter more, and I think my readers will love me **_**and**_** hate me by the time they finish it. I already have it written, but I don't know when I will post it. I'll try to post it later today.**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**~RhythmStickLunatic**


	14. Farewell

**Present for pinkcutie1102! I give to you your very own Neverland, where you can bring anyone you want to have an amazing time, and of course, never grow up! Enjoy! But don't forget to keep reading while you're there. =]**

**Farewell**

"I am youth! I am joy! I am the sun, the moon, and the stars! I. Am. PETER PAN!" Triumphantly Peter dove from the top of Marooner's rock, dagger in one hand, large, ticking alarm clock in the other. When Smee saw him, he disappeared faster than a little man like him should have been able to.

"Pan!" Kyouya screamed, but Peter didn't listen.

With a laugh, he pelted the clock at Hook's head, yelling, "Not so tough when the clock strikes, eh, Hook?" When Peter touched down, Hook already had his sword brandished against him.

"You know, Peter," he grinned, "you've become predictable."

Pan wielded his dagger against Hook's sword. If he were anyone else but Peter Pan, he wouldn't have stood a chance with such a small weapon. "Well, Hook," he grinned in return, "I could say the same for you." He let out a triumphant laugh as he blocked another of Hook's strikes. Sharp _clings_ and _clangs _of metal on metal resonated throughout the cave, making every ear ring. Kyouya winced with every almost strike, silently praying that Peter wouldn't get hurt, and silently wondering why he cared so much.

"I knew without question who had taken Tora-Yuri," Peter said, "and where you had taken him." His whimsical voice filled the cave with pure joy. The pleasure he got from simply helping somebody, from defending them, was astounding. His pure soul made the water shimmer with a new light. The sword versus dagger battle commenced through the shallow parts of the glistening, black river, up the rocky cliffs, and onto the highest point of Marooner's Rock. Kyouya still hid in a crevice dangerously close to the fight, just close enough that he could get a full look at Hook's face. "Your plans are getting old, Hook," Peter spat. "Just like you!"

"Not everyone is afraid to grow up, boy!" Hook growled. "Some people would rather do things with their lives!"

At this, Peter just laughed. "And what have you done with your life, you scurvy rat?"

There was something about Hook's face that rang a bell in Kyouya's mind. His high cheekbones, his coustache, his cold, lifeless eyes… Eyes full of icy hatred and deep-embedded insecurity. Dark, dark grey eyes that seemed so familiar…

"What have _I _done?" Hook laughed. "Boy, I am the most successful Captain the Jolly Roger has ever known! I have pillaged more gold than any captain before me has ever _seen_! I have wealth! I have power! What have _you_ got?"

With an adept twist of his dagger, Peter swept the sword straight from Hook's hand. In the blink of an eye, Hook was cornered with a sword to his throat and a dagger to his chest. Peter bent down over him, narrowed his eyes, and whispered the answer in his ear. "Happiness." Only Peter could see the sadness and fear that quickly filled the captain's coal eyes with the mention of the word.

"Now," Peter said, pressing his dagger harder against Hook's throat, "I want you to get in your little boat and leave me."

"Aye," Hook's voice came out in a whisper as he backed slowly toward the edge of the giant skull.

"And never harm Tora-Yuri or any of the Lost Boys again."

"Anything you want." Hook's tone almost seemed sarcastic, but Peter was too swollen with pride to notice.

Moving the point of the sword from Hook's chest to his back and keeping the dagger pressed against his throat, Peter grabbed Hook's shoulder and turned him to face the deep, black river. "Go," he snarled in the deepest voice he could muster. Without looking back, Hook stepped off the edge of the rock and disappeared into the darkness below.

Hesitantly, Kyouya stepped out from the shadows. "Peter," he began, his voice meek, "I must say, that was. . ."

"Amazing?" Peter smiled. "Stupendous? Breathtaking?" With each word he took a new pose, each more dramatic than the last.

"A ridiculous thing to do."

Peter's smile immediately vanished and was replaced with a puffy-lipped pout. "You're not even a little proud of me, Momma?"

For some reason, Peter calling him "Momma" made the corners of Kyouya's mouth curve upward just slightly. "We could have just saved Tora-Yuri and left without being seen."

"But where's the fun in that? You know I can't resist a good challenge."

Kyouya started going on about the "logical thing to do" and didn't notice the fear that flickered across Peter's eyes. Before he could do anything about it, Pan screamed his name and pushed him face-down onto the rocks. He was able to flip to his back just in time to see Hook's sword, back in its owner's hand, pushing against Peter's dagger just inches above his Peter's face.

"Didn't think I'd give up that easy, did you, Pan?" Hook sneered, spitting water from his dripping face onto his opponent as he spoke. "You should know me better by now." The more Kyouya looked at Hook, the more helpless he flet. He could not stand up to those eyes. Those eyes… Those familiar, ice-coal eyes…

_His father's eyes.  
_Kyouya breathed in a short hiss of cold air. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach, like all the life had been sucked out of him_. How long have I been in Neverland?_ he thought. _Surely not long enough to forget my own father!_ Yet here he was, Yushio Ootori, entangled in a match of blades with his new best friend. _But it can't be. . ._ Kyouya's mind blurred through all the possible options. _I came to Neverland to escape my father. He can't be here! _But there was no denying that those eyes, the shade of a desolate, foggy night, were the cold, patronizing eyes of the head of the Ootori family.

A sharp wince of pain caught Kyouya's ear, and he averted his eyes from his father to Peter. The horror of the scene before him took every breath of life out of his body, and yet he still found himself screaming at the top of his lungs until his throat was raw. "PAN!"

Everything happened so fast. There was a flash of red, a pained cry, a cruel burst of laughter, and for a split second, when Peter's eyes met Kyouya's, they seemed to say "I'm sorry." The meeting of their eyes stopped time. The earth slowed its turn enough for Kyouya to see the thick, crimson liquid dripping from a menacing silver hook. Peter's eyes rolled back into his head as hot, red life poured down his chest. Unable to fly, unable to fight, unable to stop the inevitable, Peter plummeted to the blackness below.

"PETER!" Kyouya heard the scream, but didn't recognize his own voice. Before he knew what he was doing, he threw himself from the top of Marooner's rock in an uncharacteristic act of selflessness. As Kyouya fell through the air, his world still turned at two kilometers per hour. He reached his arms out in front of him and pointed his legs behind him to pierce the air and create momentum. Painfully slowly, he grew closer and closer to the falling, bleeding Peter, until he was almost close enough to touch him. Finally, his fingers clasped around Peter's wrist. He pulled him closer and tucked Peter's head safely into his own chest. He turned his body around just in time for his back to smack into the water. The blow knocked the wind out of him, but he didn't care. All he cared about at this moment was keeping Peter safe.

Making sure Peter's head didn't touch the water, he pushed himself to the base of the rock. Carefully, he lay Peter's body on the surface. Barely taking the time to pull himself up next to him, he took Peter's shoulders in his hands and shook them violently.

"Peter!" His voice shook and he could barely breathe, but Kyouya was completely unaware of the pain he was in. "Pan, wake up, you idiot!" His vision became blurry and his eyes began to sting, but he didn't notice or care. He was about to resort to trying CPR, though he had never performed it before, when he saw Peter's eyes flutter. At that moment, the painful coughs that shook Peter's chest were the most beautiful sound Kyouya had ever heard. "Pan!" he said, his face lighting up.

"K-Kyouya?" Peter's voice was strained and dazed.

"Shhh," Kyouya whispered. "I'm here."

"Kyouya, you're…crying," Peter breathed. Even through the pain, he was able smile. In disbelief, Kyouya wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"Peter coughed and spoke again, his voice barely audible above the crash of the water against the rocks. "How many times do I have to make you smile and laugh…and cry, before you believe that you have a heart?"

Kyouya didn't know how to respond, so he said, "I'll…I'll carry you back home, okay? Get on my back. I'll get you cleaned up."

"What good would that do you?" Peter whispered.

"What are you talking about, Pan?" Kyouya said frantically. "Come on, this is no time to be facetious. I'll help you get on my back."

"I thought you didn't do things that brought you no personal game?"

"Well, I—"

"I knew you came with me because you cared about _something_. I just didn't know what it was. But now I do," Peter's voice was gaining a little more strength. "You were right. You didn't come because you care about Tora-Yuri. You didn't come because you care about the Lost Boys. You didn't even come because you were looking out for yourself. You came along because you care…about _me_." The corners of his lips curled into a smile.

Kyouya was aghast about how right Peter was, but didn't show it. "I…Now isn't the time for dramatic speeches, Pan. I'm taking you home."

"Kyouya," Peter began, suddenly serious. "Do you really think you'll be able to fly back by yourself with dead weight on your back?"

"I have to…"

"No. Leave me here, Kyouya. You'll never make it."

"Don't talk like that, Pan!"

"Funny. Now _I'm_ the one thinking with my brain, and _you're_ the one thinking with your heart."

"Pan…I can't just…" more tears came to Kyouya's eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. "I can't just leave you. I'll never have enough…" Kyouya faded away, unable to finish.

"Here," Peter said, reaching beneath his clothes and pulling out a tiny, animal skin pouch tied to a vine around his neck. He poured out a bit of iridescent, glowing powder. "This is my emergency dust. This should be enough to get you back safely." He couldn't gather enough strength to sprinkle the dust on Kyouya's head, so he held it in his palm and blew it at him, creating a beautiful, shimmering whirlwind. Despite the glorious light that surrounded him, Kyouya's outlook was still grim.

"Kyouya," Peter began again, "just go. You can—"

"Pixie dust isn't the problem!" Kyouya shouted, letting his new tears free. His voice was strained from expressing more emotion than he was used to. "I'll never be able to… I won't have enough happy thoughts to get me there!" he said, his voice quivering. "Not without you. I had no happy thoughts before you came." The last sentence was almost inaudible.

"Peter smiled, but the newfound strength in his voice disappeared. "Maybe I can help."

The sudden feeling of Peter's cold fingers around his own made him jump, and somehow, his body and soul felt lighter. Peter used every ounce of his remaining strength to put his other hand on the back of Kyouya's head and pull him closer to himself.

Before Kyouya could do anything about it, Peter's lips were pressed against his own. The touch was brief, but it felt like a lifetime. When Peter pulled away, Kyouya felt weightlessness overcome his entire body. He didn't realize it, but his body was now drifting upward beyond his contril. Soon he was too high up to maintain grip of Peter's hand, which he didn't realize h was still holding. He had never before felt a happy thought so powerful, or so incredibly confusing. Another boy had just _kissed_ him. A boy who he couldn't stand, yet he couldn't stand to be without…and he was _happy_? More than happy. Ecstatic! It made absolutely no sense to him.

"I…I'll get help!" Kyouya shouted back to Peter. "I'll find Tink and Bells, okay? I can't just go and leave you here, Peter!"

Something in Kyouya's words made Peter's eyes glossy. "Go!" he breathed. "I'll be fine!"

"Peter!"

Before he could lose his happy thought, Kyouya disappeared out the mouth of the cave. Despite the excruciating pain he was in, Peter held a grin that lit up his entire face.

"Boy, why are you smiling?" The sound of Hook's slimy voice behind him made his chest clench. He had forgotten all about him. "He left you," Hook said, jumping down to the rocks where Peter lay, "and that makes you happy?"

"I told you to leave," Peter glared.

"I know," Hook sighed, looking at Peter with an incredibly fake sad expression. "Isn't it a pity when your enemies would rather stick around to watch you die than your closest friends?"

"Shut up," Peter spat. "You know it wasn't like that."

"You know, that boy would make an excellent successor to the Jolly Roger."

Without hesitation, Peter barked, "He would _never_ become a pirate!"

"How do you know?" Hook sneered. "He could be an amazing pirate. Or maybe an engineer. A businessman. A _doctor. _When he _grows up_."

"He won't!" Peter's voice quivered. "He can't!"

"Oh?" Hook smiled. He bent down to whisper directly in Peter's ear, as Peter had done to him just before. Peter glared and tried to pull away, but he lacked the strength. "And how do you know what he wants? He was told you what he wanted from the very beginning, hasn't he? But did you listen? He had a plan, and you took him away from his home, his family…his _future_. I must say, I applaud such an act of cruelty."

"It's not…It's not like that!"

"You know…he could be on his way to following his dream right now. And who are you to take that away?" His tone reflected mock sadness with a dash of filthy slime.

"No!" Pan choked. "He wasn't…He wasn't…happy!"

"What makes you think he's happy now?"

"Because he—"

"How many times have you put his life in danger? You know, if he dies, it will be your fault."

Peter's head felt full of air, and the world around him seemed to grow white. "No," he breathed.

"And if you die here…well, there's really no hope for his survival in this strange land, now is there? Unless, of course, he comes to live with me on the Jolly Roger. Did I mention he would make an excellent pirate?"

"Kyouya…" The scream came out only as air.

"Such a pity," Hook sighed. He stood up and started pacing as if all this had just crossed his mind, but Peter knew he had planned to say it all from the beginning. "If you hadn't come along, that boy could have invented things or saved lives, or…inherited his father's hospital, perhaps?

"How…did you…?"

"That was his dream, wasn't it? But you had to go and dash it all away. How cruel."

Everything around Peter seemed to disappear into whiteness, and he could feel his body swaying. "Kyouya…" he croaked.

"His life would have been better if you had never come for him, Pan. You are so very selfish."

Peter could no longer feel the rocks beneath him, the waves that crashed against his skin, or the thick ropes that were now being wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

"If you were anyone else, I would just leave you here to die," Hook snarled, "but you have proven yourself stronger than that _far_ too many times. I must say, I admire your…persistence." He banged his hook against a rock several times, creating a shrill, horrible clang that echoed a thousand times louder in Peter's throbbing head. "Smee!" he called. "Smee, you coward! Come back!"

In the distance, Smee banged something against a rock, creating another echo. "Aye, Cap'n!" a distant voice called. "I'm comin'!" The little man in a tiny boat came around a corner of the cave, already out of breath and sweating. "I went to…investigate…the, uh…outskirts of the, uh…"

"You got scared and went to hide, didn't you, Smee?"

"Um…I, uh…Aye…Cap'n." Smee hung his head in shame as he rowed the dingy up to the rocks.

"Nobody appreciates a coward, Smee. Or a liar."

"Aye, Cap'n."

Once again, Hook kneeled next to a fading Peter Pan. The glow of his skin and the golden blonde of his hair were now faint and pallid and his head and limbs hung limp, but his chest still rose and fell. "High tide is near, my friend," Hook whispered in Peter's ear, not caring whether or not he could hear him. "And you have no way of getting to higher ground. Maybe you'll get lucky, and the scent of your blood will attract some merciful creatures of the deep to put you out of your misery. Or maybe it will take all night for the tide to fully take you," he cackled. "It's quite a shame, really. I never thought it would end so easily. I may be rather bored for a while with no one around to ruin my plans, but I'm sure my amazing success in being the most powerful living thing in Neverland will ease the boredom. Plus, I'm sure it's not long before your precious Lost Boys replace you." Hook stood up, grabbed the sword and dagger from Peter's loose fingers, and began twirling the point of the dagger on his fingertip. "You were a worthy opponent, I must say." Hook said, genuinely. He threw the dagger at his near unconscious enemy and said a final, "Farewell, Peter Pan."

Peter watched with blurred vision as the two pirates rowed away in their tiny boat. Hook took one final look back and put his hat over his chest in respect for his fallen foe. Even Peter's barely conscious mind noticed something was strange about Hook's face. Instead of wearing a satisfied grin as was expected of him, his eyes held a hint of sadness.

Just before Peter's eyelids finally fell, he used his last breath to whisper to no one, "To _die_…would be an awfully big adventure."

**Oh my gosh! When I was typing this, I was thinking, "Man, I am so mean!" I told you that you would love me and hate me for this chapter. Don't worry. It's not over. But I've done a page count. Guess how many pages so far? 52! At the rate I'm going, this is gonna be a novel! And I still have about six chapters I plan to write! Sheesh. Can you tell I **_**love**_** this story? Conceited? Not me! It's just that I am what I am. And I'm me! Well, au revoir for now, everybody. Please suggest this story to other people you think would enjoy it! Oh, and review. =]**

"**Hit me with your rhythm stick. It's nice to be a lunatic!"**

**~RhythmStickLunatic.**


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